tance from the seat of the general government, and far-removed from its immediate supervision. Thus tempting opportunities were presented for fraud and peculation, demoralizing the service, and resulting, in many instances, in grievous disappointment and suffering among the Indians. Not seldom the promises made to them failed of the expected performance on account of insufficient appropriations. In this way the Indian has become distrustful of the good faith of the whites.

Taking all these things together: The interspersion of white settlers, reckless adventurers and more or less wild Indians in one another's way; the anomalous and, in some of its features, absurd treaty system with its ever-changing "finalities," its frequent deceptions, unavoidable misunderstandings and incessant disappointments; the temptations to fraud and peculation in furnishing and distributing supplies; the careless and blundering management of agents, removed from immediate supervision; the sometimes accidental, sometimes culpable non-fulfillment of promises and engagements; the distress and suffering ensuing therefrom, and the comparatively lawless and uncontrollable condition of society in that part of the country which the bulk of the Indian population inhabits, we find in the "Indian question" an array of difficulties, complications, and perplexities, a complete solution of which, in a short period of time at least, appears unattainable. What, under such circumstances, can be done is, to adopt and follow a plan of systematic action calculated to mitigate the evils inherent to the existence of an incongruous population among us, and to confine them within the narrowest possible limits by improving the condition of the Indians as much as it is capable of improvement, and removing the causes of hostile collision between the Indians and the whites.

In my opinion, our efforts should be mainly directed to the following points:

1. The first thing necessary is that we should keep good faith with the Indians in every respect; we should never promise them more than we are able and willing to perform, and then perform what we have promised.

2. The pursuit of hunting is as much as possible to be discouraged among the Indians. The excitement of the chase stimulates their warlike propensities. When the Indians cease to be hunters, they will in a great measure cease to be warriors. To this end they should be permitted to possess only a limited supply of arms and ammunition, and their ponies should be exchanged as much as practicably for cattle.

3. As a number of Indian tribes are still depending, in part at least, upon hunting for their sustenance, their wants must be provided for in another way. They should be gradually gathered together upon a smaller number of reservations where agriculture and cattle-raising can be carried on with success, and where they can easily be supplied with their necessaries until they are self-sustaining.

The Indian Territory has room for most of the southwestern tribes, which should be gradually located there as they come under the control of the government. One or two reservations in the northwest, this side of the mountains, and a similar consolidation of reservations on the Pacific slope, to be determined upon after more minute inquiry into local circumstances, will accommodate the northern Indians. The interspersion of Indians and whites, which is so apt to lead to troublesome collisions, can in this way be considerably limited, and greater facilities will be afforded for the promotion of civilization.

4. While Indians cannot be expected to become successful farmers at once, several tribes have already made appreciable progress in that respect, and others are likely to do so under favorable circumstances and judicious management. It will probably be found that many tribes are more adapted to pastoral pursuits, and in such cases agriculture, although not to be neglected, should be made subordinate to the raising of cattle. All beginnings in such things will necessarily be small and slow, but they should be patiently guided and encouraged by attentive supervision and liberal aid.

5. The enjoyment and pride of the individual ownership of property being one of the most effective civilizing agencies, allotments of small tracts of land should be made to the heads of families on all reservations, to be held in severalty under proper restrictions, so that they may have fixed homes. Indians who can furnish sufficient evidence that they have supported their families for a certain number of years should be admitted to the benefits of the homestead act, and, if they are willing to detach themselves from their tribal relations, to the privileges of citizenship.

6. To protect the security of life and property among the Indians, the laws of the United States, to be enforced by proper tribunals, should be extended over the reservations, and a body of police, composed of Indians, and subject to the orders of the government officers, should be organized on each of them. It is a matter of experience that Indians thus trusted with official duty can almost uniformly be depended upon in point of fidelity and efficiency.

7. The establishment of schools for the instruction of the young is gradually being extended among the Indian tribes under our control. The advantage to be derived from them will greatly depend upon their discipline and the course of instruction. As far as practicable, the attendance of Indian children should be made compulsory. Provision should be made for boarding children at the schools, to bring them more exclusively under the control of educational influences. One of the most important points is that they should be taught to speak and read the English language. Efforts have been made to establish and teach the grammar of Indian dialects and to use books printed in those dialects as a means of instruction. This is certainly very interesting and

meritorious philological work, but as far as the education of Indian children is concerned, the teaching of the English language must be considered infinitely more useful. If Indian children are to be civilized, they must learn the language of civilization. They will become far more accessible to civilized ideas and ways of thinking when they are enabled to receive those ideas and ways of thinking through the most direct channel of expression. At first their minds should not be overburdened with too great a multitude of subjects of instruction, but turned to those practical accomplishments, proficiency in which is necessary to render civilized life possible. In addition to the most elementary schooling, boys should be practically instructed in the various branches of husbandry, and girls should receive a good training in household duties and habits of cleanliness. In this way, a young generation may be raised up far more open to civilizing influences of a higher kind and more fit for a peaceable and profitable intercourse with the white people.

8. At many of the agencies farmers are employed, and salaried by the government. But in some, if not most cases, the farms have been worked by white men, merely to raise crops for supplying the agencies and the Indians. They are to be turned to much greater advantage. The farms should be used in the first place for the instruction of the youths at school. Besides this, the farmers are to visit the farms cultivated by Indians, to give the latter practical instruction in their work and aid them as far as may be in their power.

9. On the reservations the labor of white men is to be dispensed with and Indian labor to be employed as much as possible. To what extent this can be done, under prudent and energetic direction, is shown by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in his description of the results accomplished by Agent Wilbur. Proper discrimination should be made in the distribution of supplies and annuity goods and the granting of favors between those who work and those who live as idle vagabonds, so that honest effort be encouraged by tangible recognition and reward.

Some of these reforms have for some time been in progress; others are in course of preparation. Their accomplishment requires time and patient labor, and, above all things, an honest and efficient Indian service. The Indian service has, in some of its branches, long been the subject of popular suspicion. Without attaching undue importance to vague rumors or allegations, it must be said that frequent investigations have shown that suspicion to be not without good reason. Inquiries instituted by myself since I was charged with the conduct of this department have convinced me of this fact. As a result of such inquiries, presump. tive evidence of fraudulent practices of a gross character came to my notice, which justified me in handing over a number of cases to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution as well as civil action. While following the principal object of discovering abuses at present existing, I have thought it my duty to extend, incidentally, such

investigations over past transactions, believing it well to impress officers of the government with the fact that they will not escape from their responsibility when they leave their offices, and contractors that neither their plunder nor their persons will be safe, although their accounts may have been closed and the money gone into their pockets. Such a lesson, taught in the most incisive manner, will not fail to have a wholesome effect, and, indeed, it is a most necessary one with regard to the Indian service, whose extensive ramifications render a minute supervision extremely difficult. There is no doubt that fraud in the performance of contracts and dishonest practices in the delivery and distribution of supplies and annuity goods have frequently been the cause of just discontent among the Indians, sometimes resulting in trouble and disaster.

I do not deem the present machinery of the Indian service sufficient for the prevention or discovery of abuses and fraudulent practices. The inspectors and superintendents, who are charged, among other things, with such duty, have in but rare instances been successful in ferreting out the wily expedients resorted to by dishonest contractors or agents. The records of the Indian Office bear out this assertion. When a superintendent or an inspector visits an agency, his coming is almost always known beforehand, so that there is time enough to conceal evidences of fraud and mismanagement. It is very like "catching birds with a brass band." What the Indian Bureau needs, perhaps more than any other branch of the government, is a special service, composed of efficient agents, who, under the immediate control of the department, can move secretly, and can pounce upon the point to be investigated without premonition. I venture to express the hope that Congress will not refuse the appropriation asked for to serve this purpose. A proper use made of such an appropriation will not only improve the character of the service, but also be an efficient measure of economy.

I desire to add that the investigations carried on by this department for the discovery and correction of fraudulent practices are, in many respects, seriously hampered by its want of power to compel the attendance and pay the fees of witnesses and to punish for contempt. We may, therefore, frequently fail in our inquiries, not because the will but because the means are lacking. Congress can exercise that power to its fullest extent, and Congressional investigations may, therefore, become very desirable when the department, for the reasons stated, finds itself unable to go to the bottom of suspected transactions-unless Congress sees fit to invest the department with such authority as is required to accomplish the object, by amending sections 183 and 184, Revised Statutes, so as to enlarge the powers of the Secretary of the Interior in this respect.

INDIAN AGENTS.

That the office of an Indian agent is a very responsible one, requiring high moral qualities and a superior business capacity, and that a salary of $1,500 a year, without a fair prospect of advancement, is, under ordinary circumstances, inadequate to induce men of such caliber to expose themselves and their families to the discomforts and privations of frontier life, has too frequently been stated by my predecessors in their reports to need repetition here. The consequences to which such false economy is apt to lead need scarcely be described. The report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs furnishes some interesting illustrations. I cannot too urgently commend to the attention of Congress the gradation in the salaries of Indian agents which he suggests. Even higher salaries than he recommends might be paid, and prove wise economy in the end. The proposed gradation in salaries is not only just in itself, by making pay correspond with responsibility, but will also have the advantage of holding out to an agent who distinguishes himself in the performance of his duties, the prospect of promotion to a more important and better-paying place. The selection of Indian agents is one of the most difficult tasks of this department. No man of experience in public life need be told how little ordinary recommendations can be depended upon to furnish men well fitted for the discharge of complicated and delicate duties and responsibilities. The present system which permits religious societies to nominate candidates for Indian agencies is, in some respects, undoubtedly an improvement upon the former practice of making appointments in the Indian service on political grounds. But that the present system is by no means perfect, is demonstrated by the frequent necessity of changes. The Indian service is very much in need of the element of stability. An arrangement enabling the department to assign an officer upon his entrance into the service to a place of minor importance and then to promote him in grade of duty and pay according to merit, will, in a great measure, supply that want, and in the course of time give us a body of far more experienced, efficient, and trustworthy agents than any mode of selection heretofore in practice can ever be expected to furnish. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the valuable service rendered by the Board of Indian Commissioners in the supervision of purchases and the examination of contracts and accounts, as well as by some of its members by visiting Indian agencies and tribes, and by inquiring into and giving the department very valuable information concerning their condition and needs. The board has not yet made its annual report, and I can therefore not speak of its operations in detail. As soon as that report reaches me, it will be duly brought to the notice of the Executive and of the two houses of Congress.

Whenever there was occasion to call upon the War Department for assistance in the management of Indian affairs, that assistance has always been granted with the greatest promptness, and in a spirit of harmonious co-operation which I cannot too gratefully acknowledge.