Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-09-10
INDIANS ARE NOT DYING OUT.
An Old Impression Corrected by In-
 dian Bureau.

dian Bureau.
 The North American Indian is no longer vanishing race" Extrava- gant statements under bold headlines. meant to alarm the public over the extinction of this most interesting aboriginal people, are not now taken seriously by the better informed. In stead Of dying out. the Indians are increasing in the United States and possibly on the American continent. As the years roll away and the newer life brings changed conditions, old stereotyped expressions must be dis carded, history and statistics revised, and often an appendix added to meet the requirements of truth. This is true concerning data of the Indians, and especially so since decimation by tribal wars and encounters with whites and the army have ceased, and desolating epidemics no longer carry them away.
 No branch of our government has encountered greater difficulties than the Indian office has, until recently, been an estimate rather than count, and even now there is no claim for accuracy. So late as the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, the Indian of flee added 5000 Nayajoes to the pop ulation of 1903, believing that form CT estimates of that tribe had been too low; and without any accompan- iny explanation this increase would seem abnormal and create surprise. The addition, however, is not so ap- parent in the aggregate population of all the tribes, but is misleading in comparing annual totals and comput- ing the actual increase or decrease. On the other hand systematic re- vision of the rolls at the various agencies disclosed the fact that the names of hundreds Of dead Indians were being carried from year to year. and at a single agency over 100 names were stricken of. The families to which the dead belonged had no interest in reporting death to the agent, for, until discovered. they could draw rations and annuity money for the deal at all reserva- tions where such distributions are made.
 In the early days 1t was impossible to make rational estimate of the numbers in the rowing tribes, and, as the discoyerers of this country were wont to talk extravagantly about what they saw in the new world, they greatly over-estimated the native population. lnvestiga- tions by such competent judges as Prof J. w. Powell and Gen O. Q. Howard, whose views are shared by other eminent authorities, confirm the belief that not more than 10000 natives were within the present lim- its of the United States when the Good Queen" offered to sell ner jew els to equip Columbus for his voyage over the waters. More than half that original population is with us to-day, Gyd the records show no ma terial variation from year to year since 1870, yet the total gain Is con- siderable.
 The public may easily be misled by those general census statistics Of Indians which show a surprising de- crease owing to inflated estimates in former years and to Indians de- nouncing' their tribal relations and counted in the regular census of the American people. More reliable is the record of population kept by the Indian department and now revised annually at the agencies. This re- cord from the agency rolls in ap- preaching an actual count, for special effort has been made to find them all and also to strike of the dead, and to these rolls must we look for any thing like correct data as to the loss or gain in Indian population. The former commissioner, of Indian af- fairs, w. A. Jones, In his annual re- port for 1900 says, They are not dying out," and we now offer some reasons and the most authentic fig ures extant to maintain the truth of the ex-commissioner's statement.
 There is no longer loss of life by warfare with the whites or among themselves. The reservation system with it's health precautions. medical stores, agency physicians. supplant- ing partially the medicine man.. hospitals in various instances; all these and still other agencies have reduced the deathrate to minimum. Sanitary conditions in the settle. ments have been improved, and sup. plies of food and clothing from the government to many of the tribes re- neves from starvation and exposure. The mortality among infants is re- duced since field matrons, mission aries and agency families minister to urgent needs in the Indian home where accessible. So that with bet ter homes and less of want. and ad- justment to the captivity of the reser- ation method. and protection. so far as possible, from corrupt white people and destroying intoxicants. the health condition has been vastly improved.
 But for convincing proof of our contention the government records are the best evidence. Leaving out Alaska and conflning the calculations to the mainland. the records of the Indian office since 1895 show an in- crease of more than 35.e00 in II years: the population for 1895 being 4S.3i0 and for 1905. 2sf.07s, and. with but little departure there was an increase each intervening year. For the ten years from 1890 to 1900 the increase was 1000. and the rel |. ss.-.. z~.G.. fa~ fa< r.~.s