BOLL. 30] UNCOWA U. S. BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS 



869 



of the home of James Fenimore Cooper, 

 at Cooperstown, N. Y. (a. f. c. ) 



TJncowa (from ongkouc, 'beyond,' with 

 reference to Pequannoc r. ). A small 

 band formerly living about Fairfield, 

 Fairfield co.. Conn. Their village, of the 

 same name, was near the site of Fairfield. 

 They are placed Ijy Ruttenber in the 

 Mattabesec division of the Wappinger 



§roup. 

 nckeway.— Doc. of 165.5 in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist, 

 xm, 58, 1881. TJncaway.— Bradford (ca. 1650) in 

 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 4th s., iii, 427, 1856. tlnco- 

 •way.— Hubbard (1080), ibid., 2d s., v, 455, 1815. 

 ITnkowas.— De Forest, Inds. Conn., 49, 1851. Unk- 

 was.— Macauley, N. Y., ii, 164, 1829. 



Undl-skadjins-gitunai (^.4n7 squadjVns 

 gttAnd'-i, ' Gituns on the river Skadjins' ). 

 A subdivision of the Gituns, a Haida 

 family of the Eagle clan living at Masset, 

 Brit. Col. The name was derived from 

 that of a small stream which flows into 

 the upper expansion of Masset inlet, and 

 upon which they used to camp. — Swan- 

 ton, Cont. Haida, 275, 1905. 



Unga. An Aleut village on Unga id., 

 Shumagin group, Alaska; pop. 116 in 1833, 

 185 in 1880, 159 in 1890. 



Delarof.— Veniaminof quoted by PetrofE in 10th 

 Census, Alaska, 35, 1884. Delarov.— Petroff, Rep. 

 on Alaska, 24, 1880. Oongenskoi.— Elliott, Cond. 

 Aff. Alaska, 225, 1875. Ougnagok.— Lutke quoted 

 by Baker, Geog. Diet. Alaska, 148, 1902, Ounga.— 

 Petroff in 10th Census, Alaska, 23, 1884. TJgnasik.— 

 Holmberg, Ethnog. Skizz., map, 18-55. 



Ungalik. A Malemiut Eskimo village 

 at the mouth of Ungalik r., e. end of 

 Norton sd., Alaska; pop. 15 in 1880. 

 Oonakhtolik.— Petroff in 10th Census, Alaska, 11, 

 1884. Ounag-touli. — Zagoskin in Nouv. Ann. 

 Voy., 5tli s., XXI, map, 1850. Unagtuligmut. — 

 Zagoskin, Descr. Russ. Poss. Am., pt. i, 72, 1847. 

 Unaktolik.— Elliott, Our Arct. Prov., 145, 1886. 

 Unatolik. — Elliott, op. cit. Ungalik. — Baker, 

 Geog. Diet. Alaska, 1902. TJnoktolik.— Coast Surv. 

 chart quoted by Baker, ibid. 



TJngqnaterughiate. See Shikellamy. 

 TInharik. Given in 1852 as a Karok 

 village on Klamath r., n. w. Cal. 



Oon-harik.— Gibbs, MS. Misc., B. A. E., 1852. 



Unisak. A Yuit Eskimo village of the 

 Aiwan division on Indian pt., x. e. 

 Siberia. Pop. 500 in 51 houses about 

 1895; 442 in 61 houses in 1901. 

 Nukamok.— Petroff in 10th Census, Alaska, map, 

 1884. TTni'in.— Bogoras, Chukchee, 29, 1904 (Chuk- 

 chi name). TTni'sak. — Ibid. (Eskimo name). 



United States Board of Indian Commis- 

 sioners. A Board of ten men appointed 

 and directly commissioned by the Presi- 

 dent of the United States ' ' from men 

 eminent for their intelligence and philan- 

 thropy to serve without pecuniary com- 

 pensation," to use the language of 

 the law which in 1869 created the 

 Board at the suggestion of President 

 Grant, that by its advice and sugges- 

 tions it might cooperate with the Gov- 

 ernment in securing a sound and pro- 

 gressive administration of Indian affairs 

 and in promoting the education and civ- 

 ilization of the native American tribes. 



The especial significance of the 40 

 years' history of the Commission lies in 

 the fact that upon an important branch 

 of the Government's administrative work 

 there has been brought to bear en- 

 lightened public opinion, through a 

 slowly changing body of men of high 

 character, especially interested in the re- 

 forms to be secured, uninfluenced by 

 partisan considerations and free from 

 danger of removal for party advantage 

 when impelled to criticism of adminis- 

 trative faults or defects. 



Determined to put an end to needless 

 wars with Indian tribes, President Grant, 

 referring to his "Peace Policy" and to 

 this newly created Commission, in his 

 annual message of December, 1869, said: 

 "I have adopted a new policy toward 

 these wards of the nation (they can not 

 be regarded in any other light than as 

 wards), with fair results, so far as tried, 

 and which I hoj)e will be attended ulti- 

 mately with great success." 



Commissioned under the law of April 

 10, 1869, the Board began its work under 

 regulations issued by President Grant, 

 which authorized it to inspect the records 

 of the Indian Office and to obtain full 

 information as to the conduct of all parts 

 of the affairs thereof; gave to its mem- 

 bers full power to inspect Indian agen- 

 cies, to be present at payments of annui- 

 ties, at consultations or councils with In- 

 dians; to advise agents respecting their 

 duties; to be present at purchases of 

 goods for Indian purposes; to inspect said 

 purchases, advising with the Commis- 

 sioner of Indian Affairs in regard thereto; 

 and to advise respecting instructions to 

 agents and changes in the methods of 

 purchasing goods or of conducting the 

 affairs of the Indian Bureau proper. 



Among the members of the Commis- 

 sion have been such prominent business 

 men as Felix R. Brunot, of Pittsburg (first 

 chairman of the Board) ; William Welsh 

 and George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia; 

 William E. Dodge, Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, 

 Darwin R. James, and William H. Lyon, 

 of New York, and John V. Farwell, of 

 Chicago. 



Abuses in connection with the pur- 

 chase of Indian supplies and the business 

 of Indian traders demanded and received 

 immediate attention and drastic reform. 

 The Board advised a change in the meth- 

 ods of purchase, securing strict impar- 

 tiality in the reception of bids and the 

 allotment of contracts, and a system of 

 rigid inspection after goods have'been de- 

 livered at a Government warehouse, thus 

 insuring goods in quality and grade equal 

 to the samples offered, preventing fraud, 

 and saving large sums to the Government 

 each year. The system planned and inau- 

 gurated by the business men of the Board, 



