CONGRESS. (PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.) 



223 





should be their civilization and citizenship. Fitted 

 by these to keep pace in the march of progress with 

 the advanced civilization about them, they will read- 

 ily assimilate with the mass of our population, assum- 

 ing the responsibilities and receiving the protection 

 incident to this condition. 



The difficulty appears to be in the selection of the 

 means to be at present employed toward the attain- 

 ment of this result. 



Our Indian population, exclusive of those in Alaska, 

 is reported as numbering 260,000, nearly all being lo- 

 cated on lands set apart for their use and occupation, 

 aggregating over 134,000,000 acres. These lands are in- 

 cluded in the boundaries of one hundred and seventy- 

 one reservations of different dimensions scattered in 

 twenty-one States and Territories, presenting great 

 variations in climate and in the kind and quality of 

 their soils. Among the Indians upon these several 

 reservations there exists the most marked differences 

 in natural traits and disposition and in their progress 

 toward civilization. While some are lazy, vicious, and 

 stupid, others are industrious, peaceful, and intelli- 

 gent ; while a portion of them are self-supporting and 

 independent, and have so far advanced in civilization 

 that they make their own laws, administered through 

 officers of their own choice, and educate their children 

 in schools of their own establishment and mainte- 

 nance, others still retain, in squalor and dependence, 

 almost the savagery of their natural state. 



In dealing with this question, the desires mani- 

 fested by the Indians should not be ignored. Here, 

 again, we find a great diversity. With some the 

 tribal relation is cherished with the utmost tenacity, 

 while its hold upon others is considerably relaxed ; the 

 love of home is strong with allj and yet there are 

 those whose attachment to a particular locality is by 

 no means unyielding ; the ownership of their lands in 

 severally is much desired by some, while by others, 

 and sometimes among the most civilized, such a dis- 

 tribution would be bitterly opposed. 



The variation of their wants, growing out of and 

 connected with the character of their several loca- 

 tions, should be regarded. Some are upon reserva- 

 tions most fit for grazing, but without flocks or herds ; 

 and some, on arable land, have no agricultural imple- 

 ments. While some of the reservations are double 

 the size necessary to maintain the number of Indians 

 now upon them, in a few cases, perhaps, they should 

 be enlarged. 



Add to all this the difference in the administration 

 of the agencies. While the same duties are devolved 

 upon all, the disposition of the agents and the manner 

 of their contact with the Indians have much to do 

 with their condition and welfare. The agent who 

 perfunctorily performs his duty and slothfully neg- 

 lects all opportunity to advance their moral and 

 physical improvement, and fails to inspire them with 

 a desire for better things, will accomplish nothing in 

 the direction of their civilization ; while he who feels 

 the burden of an important trust, and has an interest 

 in his work, will, by consistent example, firm yet 

 considerate treatment, and well-directed aid and en- 

 couragement, constantly lead those under his charge 

 toward the light of their enfranchisement, 



The _ history of all the progress which has been 

 made in the civilization of the Indian I think will 

 disclose the fact that the beginning has been religious 

 teaching, followed by or accompanying secular educa- 

 tion. While the self-sacrificing and pious men and 

 women who have aided in this good work by their 

 independent endeavor have for their reward the be- 

 neficent results of their labor and consciousness of 

 Christian duty well performed, their valuable services 

 should be fully acknowledged by all who, under the 

 law, are charged with the control and management of 

 our Indian wards. 



What has been said indicates that, in the present 

 condition of the Indians, no attempt should be made 

 to apply a fixed and unyielding plan of action to their 

 varied and varying needs and circumstances. 



The Indian Bureau, burdened as it is with their 

 general oversight and with the details of the establish- 

 ment, can hardly possess itself of the minute phases 

 of the particular cases needing treatment ; and thus 

 the propriety of creating an instrumentality auxiliary 

 to those already established for the care of the Indians 

 suggests itself. 



I recommend the passage of a law authorizing the 

 appointment of six commissioners, three of whom shall 

 be detailed from the Army, to be charged with the 

 duty of a careful inspection, from time to time, of all 

 the Indians upon our reservations or subject to the 

 care and control of the Government, with a view of 

 discovering their exact condition and needs, and de- 

 termining what steps shall be taken on behalf of the 

 Government to improve their situation in the direction 

 of their self-support and complete civilization ; that 

 they may ascertain from such inspection what, if any, 

 of the reservations may be reduced in area, and in 

 such cases what part not needed for Indian occupation 

 may be purchased by the Government from the Indi- 

 ans and disposed of for their benefit ; what, if any, 

 Indians may with their consent be removed to other 

 reservations, with a view of their concentration and 

 the sale on their behalf of their abandoned reserva- 

 tions ; what Indian lands now held in common should 

 be allotted in severalty ; in what manner and to what 

 extent the Indians upon the reservations can be placed 



penalties 5 and which, if any, Indians should be in- 

 vested with the rights of citizenship. The powers 

 and functions of the commissioners in regard to these 

 subjects should be clearly defined, though they should, 

 in conjunction with the Secretary of the Interior, be 

 given all the authority to deal definitely with the ques- 

 tions presented deemed safe and consistent. 



They should also be charged with the duty of ascer- 

 taining the Indians who might properly be furnished 

 with implements of agriculture, and of what kind ; in 

 what cases the support of the Government should be 

 withdrawn; where the present plan of distributing 

 Indian supplies should be changed ; where schools 

 may be established and where discontinued ; the con- 

 duct, ^methods, and fitness of agents in charge of res- 

 ervations ; the extent to which such reservations are 

 occupied or intruded upon by unauthorized persons ; 

 and generally all matters related to the welfare and 

 improvement of the Indian. 



They should advise with the Secretary of the In- 

 terior concerning these matters of detail in manage- 

 ment, and he should be given power to deal with 

 them^fully if he is not now invested with such power. 



This plan contemplates the selection of persons for 

 commissioners who are interested in the Indian ques- 

 tion, and who have practical ideas upon the subject of 

 their treatment. 



The expense of the Indian Bureau during the last 

 fiscal year was more than six and a half million dol- 

 lars. I believe much of this expenditure might be 

 saved under the plan proposed ; that its economical 

 effects would be increased with its continuance ; that 

 the safety of our frontier settlers would be subserved 

 under its operation; and that the nation would be 

 saved through its results from the imputation of in- 

 humanity, injustice, and mismanagement. 



In order to carry out the policy of allotment of In- 

 dian lands in severalty when deemed expedient, it 

 will be necessary to have surveys completed of the 

 reservations, and I hope that provision will be made 

 for the prosecution of this work. 



In May of the present year a small portion of the 

 Chiricahua Apaches on the White Mountain reserva- 

 tion, in Arizona, left the reservation and committed a 

 number of murders and depredations upon settlers in 

 that neighborhood. Though prompt and energetic 

 action was taken by the military, the renegades eluded 

 capture and escaped into Mexico. The formation of 

 the country through which these Indians passed, their 

 thorough acquaintance with the same, the speed of 

 their escape, and the manner in which they scattered 



