The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-10-04

OF Boarding Schools for Girls....... Al
of Pupils in Boarding Schools for
Girls. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, lbooo
of Common Schools. ................ SOC
of Pupils in Common Schools .......31 1858
Whole number of Pupils ..............36,S6 5
~ Including nine still supported at the Sand
wich Islands.
(2 Including ten at the Sandwich Islands.
DR.. Means read the report of the Audi
tors, Avery Plummer, Arthur W. Tufts and
James NJ. Gordon, ESQ.,, of Boston, showing
the account to be correct and properly
vouched for.
INDIANS I'm THE UNITED STATES
AND WHAT Is DONE FOR THEM.
BY Rev. John o. Means, ID. D., Secretary.
The Annual Report of the. Dakota Indian
Mission is presented in the usual form. In
addition, 1t seems to the Prudential Com
mittee desirable to lay before the Board
brief statements with regard to the Indians
in the United States, and what is done
for them, in the light of which we may more
intelligently consider our own work.
In the months of April and May commit.
tee, consisting of Rev. DR.. A. G. Thompson,
G. c. Barr, Esq, and Secretary Meaos,
spent several weeks in visiting the stations
Of the Dakota Mission. The instructions
by which they were guided, and the full re-
port of their observations, will be placed in
the hands of the Committee on the Dakota
Mission, appointed at this meeting. The
main facts of their report are embodied in
this paper. ~
THE NUMBER AND CONDITION OF THE IN
DAMS.
In the year 1881 the number of Indians
in the United States, exclusive of Alaska
was POI ,S51. OF these the five civilized tribes
in the Indian Territory numbered 59,277,
while 202, 574 were ON reservations, or roam
ing at large. Out of the 100000 there were
100000 who have discarded blankets, and
are wearing citizens dress wholly or in
part, ~
The Indians are not evenly distributed.
Washington Territory has 13,137; the IN
dian Territory, 1895, exclusive of the CIV
ilized tribes; Arizona, $1,000; Montana,
10000; New Mexico, $4,000; Dakota, 0,60S.
No other State or Territory has more than
10000 in round numbers. The various res
ervations on which the greater number of
Indians are gathered cover 242 ,09l square
miles, or 155, 632, 3l2 acres of which S,000,-
600, acres are reported tiliable. If equal
ly divided. every family of five Indians
would have about $50 acres of cultivable
land. They actually cultivated during the
year 1881, $50, 1857 acres.
Besides the reservations which are recog-
nized as belonging to the Indians, the Unit
ed States Government has purchased lands
once occupied by them, and has come I'M
| der obligations, by various treaty stipula-
| tons, to give annuities to certain tribes.
| The present liability of the government, I'M
der treaty engagements, for "limited annu-
tiles to be paid in limited number of
years." is S9,6S0,032 in gross; of this there
are now annually due 81, 421, $50; for
annuities of a permanent character there
| are due, S349, 432 for amounts held in trust.
on which five per cent. (about 10000 is
annually paid, $,6,120,O45. The two
amounts of $3.50, 900 each total of 500, 600
'.must be annually paid forever, unless the
original agreements are mutually modified
between the government and the Indians,
or unless the Indians draw from the princi-
pal of their invested funds" OF the amount
due in limited annuities, the annual sum
due for the present is 1,421, $50; which
makes total of present annuities due the
Indians about $2,121, $50. The amount
actually disbursed from the appropriations
| for the Indian Department for tine year
ending June 80, 1881, was $4,2S7.323; of
this it is computed that there reached the
Indians the value of s., $3.50, 947, while about
$630,000, or fifteen per cent, was
expended in distributing the same. The
distribution includes medicines &c.
3S7: annuity goods, $54S, 1926; subsistence
supplies, 81 ,804, sos; agricultural and mis-
ton and storage, $685., $50; purchasing and
inspection expenses, $21, 1858; advertising,
| a. The Visiting Committee left Boston April Is
| and reached the city in return May rs. Rev. Jo-
seph Ward of Yankton, who had been invited by
the Prudential Committee to accompany them, went
with them to Santee, and assisted materially in the
general consultations with the missionaries, and in
| the private coupsels of the Committee. Their APP
probation of his valuable services is put record
| Pressing duties connected with Yankton College
| rendered it impossible for him TO accompany the
Committee to Fort Sully, Sssetsn, and Fort Bert
hold.
on the way to the mission field in passing through
Chicago and again in returning, the Committee had
conference with the ladies Of the Womans Board Of
Missions of the Interior. Mrs Dr. A. G. Thompson
of the Executive Committee of the Woman's Board
| of Boston, accompanied the Visiting Committee
and had full share in the observations and consul
tations. and brought the Committee into more conf
dental relations than other wise might have beer
possible with the Christian women in the mission
| field, as well as with the friends in Oh cago.
The Committee first visited the mission station al
| the Santee Agency. DIR. Thompson ana wife reach
ell 1t Saturday evening April ~, end participated
| in the religious services Sunday. Messrs. Burr,
Ward and Means, arrived Monday afternoon: A
visit was made to BAIL Creek, and the Committee
were visited by the Ponca Chiefs and received from
them request to establish school at their reserva
| ton, about thirty miles distant. The COMMITTEES
left Santse late Wednesday afternoon and proceed
ed to the Fort Sully station. Sunday, April 80 and
Monday, they spent with the mission family at Peo-
ria Bottom-the post-otics is now 0she Hughes Co.,
Dakota-and Tuesday and Wednesday they visited
Fort Sully, Fort Bennett, the Sans Arc, and Mime
conjou, and other vilagesnin the Cheyenne Valley,
and left Oahe Thursday, for the Sissiton Agency,
which they reached late Saturday night, May q.
Here the Goodwill and Ascension churches were
visited and besides seeing all the members OF the
missions and sharing their Inequalities, they did
the Inequalities of the missionaries at each of the
other stations the Committees had interviews with
Rev. John b. Renville Rev. David Grey Cloud Rev.
Joseph Irondoor, and Rev. Charles r. Crawford ma
tive pastots and other Indian elders. Here, also,
as at the other stations they had favorable opportu
nifty of seeing the government school, and received
generous hospitality from Major Crissey, United
States Indian Agent, who impaired important in
formation. The Sissiton reservation was left We'd
nesday May 10. The following Sunday spent
| in Bismarck from which, by wagon ride of ninety
miles, Fort Berthold was reached late Tuesday ev-
ening May l6. The Committee reached Bismarck
l again Friday May 10, having met with no accident
| aud few detentions and having been preserved in
uninterrupted health, for which hearty thanks
given to our Heave ..ly Father.
(2l The births and deaths partially reported
In 1881; among the tribes the br chs were 2
$780, the deaths 989, which may indie lte that the
number of Indians is not decreasing,