Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-01-16
INDIANS TN THE LAND.
CENSUS FIGURES or DOUBTFUL
VALUE.
The Total Number Nearly 250,ock but This
Estimate IS Probably Based on lnsa-
Ecieni Information.

Washington. Jan. 15.--The result Of an
apparently fair effort 20 count the In
dians IN this country is published in the
preliminary bulletins of the census bu-
reau. 1t is the work of one Thomas
Donaldson, who reports the total number
OF red men to be 2492T3, aud declares
that there has been an apparent decrease
Of ll2l In total of 1889 reservation
lndiuus since 1850. In the mind OF any
one acquainted with the subject two
doubts arise. il does not seem possible
TINT the decrease has been so slight,
and II Is not altogether likely that q zeal.
Gus effort 70 arrive Nt the actual number
Of tie ab0riKines has now, for the hrst
time, been attempted. The census sta
tsticion reports thut "nuny of the spe-
cial agents engaged In the work met
with serious and dangerous opposition.
The enumerators of the 1--WE civilized
tribes In the Indian Territory We're most.
~ Indians appointed on the recommends
ton Of the principal chiefs. At Oraihe,
Ariz., trouble was threatened and
fractional disturbance occurred over the
question Of enrolment or non-enrollment
One Of the enumcratorS was confined
for several weeks in a MOqui town, but
was finally released. In some localities
meetings were held aud native clergy
men advised the people against enroll
ment"
The report says further that the port
folios of the enumcrators were suggps-
tive of books and many Of the Indians
considered them books Of new religious
creeds and refused TO answer the ques-
tons. Others advised resistance, claim
ing that the enrolment was scheme
to get their names, which would then
be attached TO an alleged treaty, aud
they would be robbed of their right TO
remain on thoir lands Naturally
suspicious Of white men and dOuby so
of a government official, 1t was only by
the cool Judgment and patience of the
special agents that the work was per
formed"
There is n great deal Of naiyet in the
suggestion that the Indians were afraid
of the introduction of new religious
creeds, aud them is MISUNDERSTANDING
more than was 'intended-in the state
mcnt that the red men are "douely sns-
piciOus of q government oticinL In
dim lands have been stolen before this
with less trouble than n pretended emu
meration of a tribe. Nearly every cam
did man not In government employ
and great many soldiers and others
not connected with either Tho census or
the Indian bureau who have written
about the Indians have shown that there
Is good reason why the red man should
suspect the government and its employees.
Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, In his
books on "OW Wild Indians asserts
that "nll Indians have n strong super
stitious repugnance against being counted
and this of late years (since
the government has been Issuing rations)
Is liable TO suspicion Of self-nterest
They entirely appreciate the advantage
OF getting 500 rations for 300 or less
mouths" In another place he says that
il Is impossible to get at the correct
number of Indians while the govern
mept makes IL to the advantage Of both
| the Indians and the Indian agents ia
eNdggcrate the numbers. The vanity
of the Indians used to help TO deceive
Inll who tried 10 measure their numbers
1--WE are as the leaves on the trees,
they used TO be fond of saying. Now
| that they have been corralled on reser
yations the lying h ably continued by
those who live upon them.
CAPTAINS Lewis and Clark, In theil
report of their hcryic journey TO the
| Pacific coast, gave figure as TO the OK
| tent OF the various tribes they saw o.
! heard OF. They calculated that between
| 81. Louis and the west coast they me
with tribes composed Of S0060 souls il
MI. They estimated that there We're al
| mnny Indians as that on the furthe
side OF the Rockies, and that there were
$4,000 In the Oregon territory Of tina
time, which was the opening of this cen
tury. When IL Is remembered how small
a part Of the United States they becam,
! familiar with IL will bc seen that, a
| their rate of calculation, the whole mum
Der Of red people would have been yer!
great. Catln, the best Informed maj
In his time upon this subject, rated thl
number of Blackfeet at GO,0OO In his day
Ii is said that they did not number quar-
ter of that sum, and Catlin says that II,
got his figures from an Indian agent
As Colonel Dodge says, the estimate
npOn the subject of the total number o
Indians when the first settlements wer
made by the whites range from 300,OW
10 100000. He takes account Of thei
wars, of the great territory each ban,
required, aud of the universal lack o
fecundity among their women ant
reaches the conclusion that the Indian
population of the country never at an
time much exceeded 100000 souls. Colo
mel Dodge's book was published I'm 1885,
and he says that the last official repor
Of the commissioner OF Indian Rffair,
which he had before him, credited IN
red race with 253,0OO souls within on
borders "rhis Is at least One-fifth 10
great a figure" lac adds And yet
1890. after half dozen years OF tina
ratio Of decrease which most wester
men believe 10 be very rapid the gov
ernmcnt returns determine the India
population 20 be 249,2I3
The Indians. the Indian agents, IN
beef contractors and the traders aroun
each reservation are Interested in eXal
gerating the number Of men, women an
children IN each band and unless the Jas
enumerators paid no heed 10 what an
!. of these persons said, but actually count
ed noses" we know no more about ia
Indian population than we did before
There Is such cloud Of Justification owe
the whole subject, and such good rel
son why the white men who know IA
truth should conceal Il that the chance
are 10 TO / against the reliability OF an
official report upon the subject,
,,,r M co,TDD0,rrcD