ARMY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



47 



in pursuit, but no very serious affair was anti- 

 Apaches have no connection 



whatever with the Utea. They have always 

 been restless and mischievous, and only resort 

 to agencies to rest, recuperate, and make ready 

 for the next war. As soon as winter oomes 

 they are expected to return to their agency 

 and become orderly. 



A proposition, often made and recently re- 

 newed, to transfer the charge of the Indians 

 from the Department of the Interior to the 

 War Department, has led to such conflicting 

 discussions on the subject of Indian manage- 

 ment as to obtain the name of the " Indian 

 problem" for it. The difficulties connected 

 with it have been steadily growing from year 

 to year as the Western country, formerly occu- 

 pied as hunting-grounds exclusively, is required 

 for agricultural settlement and mining industry. 

 In the same measure as white men and Indians 

 more and more jostled each other, their con- 

 tact has been apt to result in collision. The 

 Indians are scattered over an immense extent 

 of country, in tribes and bands of different size, 

 with constantly growing and multiplying set- 

 tlements of whites between them. The game 

 upon which formerly most of them could de- 

 pend for subsistence is rapidly disappearing. 

 They occupy a number of reservations, some 

 large and some comparatively small ; some con- 

 sisting in great part of fertile lands, some bar- 

 ren ; many of which were secured to them for 

 occupancy by treaties in times gone by with 

 them as distinct nations. Many treaty reser- 

 vations have turned out to be of far greater 

 value in agricultural and mineral resources 

 than they were originally thought to be, and 

 are now equally coveted by the white popula- 

 tion surrounding them. 



The system of superintendents and agents 

 has continued from an early period ; but these 

 officers were few in number and made their 

 reports to the War Office, although neither the 

 Secretary nor any officer of the Department 

 had anything to do with their appointment, 

 nor was the Department charged with the 

 duty of supervising or controlling them. In 

 1854 an act of Congress was passed by which 

 there was given to the Secretary of War a sort 

 of general superintendency of the agents and 

 sub-agents appointed by the President ; and, 

 while by that act the President was authorized 

 to select military men to discharge the duties 

 of Indian agents, a barge majority of the agents 

 selected were taken from civil life, and much 

 machinery was employed in the conduct of 

 Indian affairs. Year after year large amounts 

 of money have been expended with a view to 

 civilizing these people, and yet failure has at- 

 tended the efforts in this direction. The inau- 

 guration of the " peace policy " in 1868 by Pres- 

 ident Grant, in which their management was 

 placed entirely in the hands of civilians, was 

 expected to produce more favorable results. 

 The ends steadily pursued by the Interior De- 

 partment have been 1. To set the Indians to 



work as agriculturists or herders, thus to break 

 up their habits of savage life and to make them 

 self-supporting ; 2. To educate their youth of 

 both sexes so as to introduce to the growing 

 generation civilized ideas, wants, and aspira- 

 tions ; 3. To allot parcels of land to Indians in 

 severally, and to give them individual title to 

 their farms in fee, inalienable for a certain 

 period, thus to foster the pride of individual 

 ownership of property, instead of their former 

 dependence upon the tribe, with its territory 

 held in common ; 4. When settlement in sev- 

 erally with individual title is accomplished, to 

 dispose with their consent of those lands on 

 their reservations which are not settled and 

 used by them, the proceeds to form a fund for 

 their benefit, which will gradually relieve the 

 Government of the expenses at present pro- 

 vided for by annual appropriations; 5. When 

 this is accomplished, to treat the Indians like 

 other inhabitants of the United States under 

 the laws of the land. " This policy," says the 

 Secretary of the Interior, " if adopted and sup- 

 ported by Congress and carried out with wis- 

 dom and firmness, will, in my opinion, grad- 

 ually bring about a solution of the Indian 

 problem, without injustice to the Indians and 

 also without obstructing the development of 

 the country." 



It appears, from the report of the Commis- 

 sioner of Indian Affairs, that the Indians on 

 reservations have now under cultivation 157,- 

 056 acres, about 24,000 of which were broken 

 by them in 1879, and that the products raised 

 by the reservation Indians during the same 

 twelve months amounted to 328,637 bushels of 

 wheat, 643,286 bushels of corn, 189,654 bush- 

 els of oats and barley, 390,698 bushels of po- 

 tatoes and other vegetables, and 48,353 tons of 

 hay. This exhibit of the products of Indian 

 labor does not include the five civilized tribes 

 of the Indian Territory, who cultivated 237,- 

 000 acres and raised 565,400 bushels of wheat, 

 2,015,000 bushels of corn, 200,500 bushels of 

 oats and barley, 336,700 bushels of vegetables, 

 and 176,500 tons of hay. At the same time 

 the raising of stock has been encouraged as 

 much as possible. There are owned by reser- 

 vation Indians 199,700 horses, 2,870 mules, 

 68,894 head of cattle, 32,537 swine, and 863,- 

 525 sheep, the latter principally by the Nava- 

 ips. The five civilized tribes in the Indian 

 Territory are reported to have 45,500 horses, 

 5,500 mules, 272,000 head of cattle, 190,000 

 swine, and 32,400 sheep. Provision has been 

 made for au additional distribution of 11,300 

 head of stock cattle among the uncivilized 

 tribes, it being found that the Indians are be- 

 ginning to take excellent care of their domestic 

 animals, and to be proud of the increase of 

 their stock. Many have commenced raising 

 swine and poultry, and it is thought expedient 

 to encourage such beginnings in every possible 

 way. The cultivation of garden vegetables 

 among them is also rapidly spreading. Prepa- 

 rations have been made to increase the area of 



