miLL. 301 



AGElSrOY SYSTEM 



23 



of order on the reservation, the removal 

 from the Indian countrj^ of all persons 

 found therein contrary to law, the over- 

 sight of employees, the i)rotection of the 

 rights of the Indians in the matter of 

 trade, the suppression of the traffic in in- 

 toxicating liquors, the investigation of 

 depredation claims, the protection of 

 the Indians on their land held in sever- 

 alty, the care of all Government prop- 

 erty, the care of agency stock, the proper 

 receipt and distribution of all supplies 

 received, the disbursement of money re- 

 ceived, and the supervision of schools 

 (see IT. S. Stat. L., iv, 564, 732, 736, 

 738; X, 701; xi, 80, 169; xii, 427; xiii, 

 29; XVIII, 449; xix, 244, 293; xxiii, 94). 

 In addition to the correspondence and 

 other clerical work incident to the cur- 

 rent business of his office, each agent is 

 required to keep a book of itemized 

 expenditures of ever}' kind, with a record 

 of all contracts, together with receipts of 

 money from all sources, of which a true 

 transcript is to be forwarded quarterly to 

 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (see 

 U. S. Stat. L., XVIII, 451). The salaries 

 of Indian agents range from $1,000 to 

 $3,000 per annum. The employees un- 

 der the agent are clerks, interpreters, 

 police, farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, 

 millers, butchers, teamsters, herders, la- 

 borers, watchmen, engineers, and physi- 

 cians, besides the school employees. A 

 large proportion of these employees are 

 provided in accordance witli treaty stipu- 

 lations. The salaries range from $200 to 

 $1,200 per annum. 



Interpreters. — This class of employees 

 stood between the Indian and the white 

 race, between the tribe and the (Tovern- 

 ment, and haveexercised afar-reaching in- 

 fluenceon Indianaffairs. Thetranslationg 

 of these men were the sole means by which 

 the two races understood or misunder- 

 stood each other. Until recently most 

 interpreters picked up colloquial English 

 from trappers, traders, and other adven- 

 turers in the Indian country. They were 

 generally mixed-bloods whose knowledge 

 of the language and the culture of l)oth the 

 white and the Indian races was necessarily 

 limited. It was impossible for them, with 

 the best intentions, to render the dignified 

 and thoughtful speech of the Indian into 

 adequate English, and thus they gravely 

 prejudiced the reputation of the native's 

 mental capacity. The agency interpre- 

 ter received his salary from the Gov- 

 ernment through the agent, and, as was 

 natural, he generally strove to make him- 

 self acceptable to that officer. His posi- 

 tion was a responsible and trying one, 

 since questions frequently arose between 

 the Indians and the agent which de- 

 manded courage, prudence, and unswerv- 

 ing honesty on the part of the interi)reter. 



who was the mouthpiece of both p rties. 

 Of late years the spread of English ,.mong 

 the younger people through the medium 

 of the schools, while it has not done 

 away with the official interpreter, has 

 lessened his difficulties and, at the same 

 time, diminished the power he once held. 



Indutn police. — This force was author- 

 ized by act of Congress of May 27, 1878. 

 Its duties are to preserve order on the res- 

 ervation, to prevent illegal liquor traffic 

 and arrest offenders in this matter, to act 

 as guards when rations are issued and an- 

 nuities paid, to take charge of and pro- 

 tect at all times Government property, to 

 restore lost or stolen property to its right- 

 ful owners, to drive out timber thieves 

 and other trespassers, to return truant 

 pupils to school, and to make arrests for 

 disorderly conduct and other offenses. 

 Such a force is organized at all the agen- 

 cies, and the faithfulness of the Indian 

 police in the discharge of their duties is 

 well attested. The pay is from $10 to $15 

 a month, usually also with a small house 

 and extra rations. 



Annuities. — Although the right of emi- 

 nent domain over all territories of the 

 United States is vested in the Govern- 

 ment, still the Indians' "right of occu- 

 pancy" has always been recognized. 

 The indemnity paid by the United 

 States to the Indians when these made 

 cessions of land was intended to extin- 

 guish this riglit. These payments were 

 made in money or merchandise, or both. 

 The entire amount to be paid to a tribe 

 was placed to its credit in the United 

 States Treasury. In some instances only 

 the interest on this sum was paid an- 

 nually to the tribe; in other cases the 

 principal was extinguished by a stated 

 annual payment. These annuities (an- 

 nual payments under treaty obligations) 

 had to be voted each j-ear by Congress 

 and were distinct from the sums appro- 

 priated as special gratuities to be used for 

 cases of peculiar neeil. During the early 

 part of the 19th century cash annuities 

 were handed over by the agents to the 

 chief, who receipted for the money and 

 distributed it among the tribe, but for the 

 last fifty years or more an enrolment of 

 the tribe has l)een made by the agent 

 prior to each payment, and the money 

 has been divided pro rata and receipted 

 for individually. 



A large proportion of the payments 

 made to Indians was originally in mer- 

 chandise. This mode of payment was 

 abused, and inured to the advantage of 

 white manufacturers and traders, but was 

 injurious to the tribe, as it tended to kill 

 all native industries and helped toward 

 the general demoralization of the Indian. 

 Payments in goods are now made only in 

 cases where an isolated situation or other 



