The Somerset reporter., 1885-05-13
Indian Supplies.
COST OF MAINTAINING THE NATIONS WARDS

COST OF MAINTAINING THE NATIONS WARDS
The committee appointed by Sec
rotary Lamar went TO New York city
last week, where they opened large
number of bids for furnishing sup
plies for the Indian service and en-
tered into contract with the success
full bidders. The contracts aggre-
gate o., OO0, 900 in value and will re-
0uire about $4,000 packages. me
lettings occur once n year, III New
York in May and in San Francisco
i'm August. The amount OF the sup
niles furnished at the latter place,
however, are much smaller than III
New York. The department officials
claim that they obtain goods at the
very lowest cash prices and have
never lost a package since 1878.
The Indian bureau has maintained
a large warehouse at SO and 81
wooster street, New York, for many
wears and there the samples of the
bidders goods are inspected and the
bulk of the supplies received and
distributed to the various Indian
agencies and Indian schools through
ont the country. The medicines,
hospital stores, surgical instruments,
hardware, tools, clothing, cotton and
WOODEN goods, boots and shoes. hats
and caps, notions, groceries, crock
cry. furniture, wooden ware, harness
es, saddles, wagons, glass, paints,
stoves, school books, maps, station
cry, etc, include about everything
used in every day life by white PEG
ple. These are delivered mostly In
New York for distribution, and the
successful bidders are usually East
ern merchants and manufacturers.
The beef cattle, provisions, feed, etc,
are delivered direct to the agencies
or schools and are generally supplied
by Western contractors.
There are 81 Indian agencies and
6 Indian training and industrial
schools. The largest agency is the
Pine Ridge (Red Cloud) in Southern
Dakota, in charge of the celebrated
McGillicuddy. Eight thousand Sioux
are cared for and fed by the govern
ment there and 6, 7O5,O 900 pounds of
beef, bacon and lard, 100000
pounds of -four, bread and corn, 1OO,-
600 pounds of coffee, 81 1900 pounds
of beans, and 10000 pounds of SUI
gar are annually consumed by our
dusky wards who have abandoned
the war path. The Crows are fond
of oat meal and take 5000 pounds;
the Yanktons want 10000 pounds
of wheat; the La Pointe agency in
Wisconsin, which includes the Chip
pewas and Bots Fortes, smoke 500
pounds of tobacco. Nearly all take
tea, sugar and coffee, and the Rose
bud agency consumes 25 600 pounds
of hominy. The medical supplies,
include a number of luxuries and
delicacies, but the clothing does not
include very fashionable styles of
suits, handkerchiefs and hosiery !;
but the school books are all of the
very latest editions and include the
elementary studies, geometry and
hygiene.
The Indian bureau is in charge of j.
d. G. Atkins, commissioner, who has
a chief clerk, five chiefs of divisions,
ten Indian inspectors and special
agents, u superintendent of Indian
schools and small army Of clerks.
The latter are located in the Second
National bank building near the in
terror department. J. M. Harworth
of Olathe, Kansas, superintendent of
Indian schools, died last March, and
the Office, which pays $4,000, is now
vacant. At every Indian school
there are a large number of teachers
and employees, and at each agency
are employed number of policemen.
Pine Ridge agency has a uniformed
company of 81 mounted police arm
ed with beech loading rifles.
Besides at the agencies there are
physicians, engineers, farmers car
penters, herlers, interpreters, black
smiths. matrons, seamtresses, cooks,
laundresses, clerks, laborers, millers,
overseers, superintendent, store
keepers, mechanics, at salaries rang
ing from 900 to 81 200 a year. The
Indian agents receive from 81 200 to
5000 q year, and the inspectors
$1,000. There is also a board of In
dian commissioners, ten in number,
who receive no salary.
The Indian problem-sO called
has been a serious one for the gov
eminent for many years, and, &C
cording to the philanthropist is far
from settlement. Enormous amounts
of hard cash are paid out to the In
dams every year in the shape of an
nuities, and the burden upon the
general government is increasing
yearly. With the exception of one
in North Carolina and one jim New
York State, the Indian agencies are
all located in the Western States
and territories.