Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-01

will settle on land, intending to make i
his home, he ought to be encouraged il SC
doing.
TEE GREAT SIOUX RESERVATION.
This reservation, including the agen-
oies of Cheyenne River, Lower Brule
Standing Rock, Pine Ridge and Rosebud
contains, according to the report of the
| commissioner of Indian affairs for 1882
! 1921 square miles, with population OF
$4,000 inhabitants, or about one to two
square miles. The total number of acre;
cultivated on said reservation was 8, 484
or about five and three quarter square
miles. The land claimed as cultivated
| consists of small and badly cultivated
| fields, and the most of it can scarcely be
| considered as cultivated land.
The Forty-seventh congress provided
| in an act making appropriations fol
sundry civil expenses of the government
| for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1888
and for other purposes, as follows:
For this amount, or SO much thereof as may
be necessary to enable the secretary of the in
terror to negotiate with the Sioux Indians for
snch modification of existing treaties and agree
ments with said Indians as may be doomed
desirable by said Indians and the secretary OF
the interior, S5,903; but any such agreement
shall not take effect until ratified by congress
Provided, however, that IL any lands shall be
acquired from said Indians by the United States,
it shall be on the express condition that the
United States shall only disp Sc of the same to
actual settlers under the provisions of the home
stead laws.
Approved August Z, 1882.
Under this provision co mmissioners
were appointed to confer with the Indians
and report TO congress for ratifioati on On
the LIST of February the commission re-
ported, by which it appears that the In
dians of the several agencies above men
toned had agreed to cede to the United
States about $4,000 square miles The
conditions of the agreement were that
eace head of a family was entitled to $50
acres Of land and eighty acres for each
child under eighteen years. The govern
ment is to furnish $4,000 COWS and 1000
bulls, land each family is to have besides one
good COW aad one well broken pair of oxen.
This agreement was not signed by a
majority of the adults, but by the chiefs
and head men. The treaty Of 1868 re-
quired that all treaties thereafter made
should be ratified by three-fourths of the
adults; but the treaty of 1876, ceding the
Black Hills, was not executed IN accord
ance with the treaty of 1868. The COM
missioners considered this as precedent,
and decided to accept the action of the
chiefs and head men as that of the tribes,
which is in strict accordance with Indian
law.
Congress declined to ratify the agree
ment, and required that three-fourths of
the adults should subscribe to rhe same.
The commissioners have not made report
of the progress made in securing sig
natures to such agreement; but 1t is al
legged that the Indians have very generally
concluded that it is not for their interest
to dispose of the lands in the way pro-
posed, and doubtless much dissatisfaction
exists among them in relation thereto.
INDIANS OPT OF THE RESERVATION.
There has been much complaint coming
from stockmen and settlers in the vicinity
Of Indian reservations, that the Indians
are allowed to go off of the reservations to
hunt, and that while ont in such hunting
parties, they depredate on the settlers and
stookmen by killing cattle, stealing horses,
etc. In soma instances the charges have
been without foundation; but i. ID believ-
ed that the settlers and stockmen in some
SsC.lO15 uHFS sun5fSQ loss
from such parties. In some of the treat
les with the Indians they reserve the right
to hunt off of the reservation, and as they
are generally well informed as to all the
provisions of treaty favorable to them,
the agent finds it difficult to keep
them on the reservation In some
cases the appropriations for their
support are SO small that they are COM
PEELED to support themselves. in part at
least,by hunting. 1t is quite.certain that as
game becomes more difficult to obtain, the
Indians will incIease their depredstions,
those who are suffering the
pangs of hunger. 1t would be difficult to
restrain white men under like circum-
stances, AMI it is much more difficult to re-
strain Indians, who have very loose ideas
concerning the rights of others. The only
remedYis to keep them on their reserva-
tioas, and this cannot be done unless they
are supplied with suitable food, either by
the government or through their own eI
ertions. and whenever they have in trea-
ties with the government reserved the
right to hunt off of the reservation, such
treaty should be modified, AID il consider
alton OF sueh modification they should be
supplied with work and stock, cattle or
agricultural implements, or both.