the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs it appears that they received the same rations which were furnished to the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes on the same reservation; that they received those rations with the same regularity; and that their supplies were not only fully up to but rather in excess of the quantity provided by treaty, such quantity being amply sufficient to satisfy their actual wants, and that the only articles withheld from them at any time were flour at two issues only, in consequence of late appropriations, which deficiency was made good by extra beef; and coffee, sugar, and tobacco withheld, according to law, from those who refused to do any work, which law the agent in charge of those Indians properly considered himself bound as much as possible to execute. It may be added that while a little less than 300 Northern Cheyennes broke out, 4,700 Northern and Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes remained on the reservation perfectly quiet, having received the same treatment. The report of the Commissioner also states, as the true cause of the outbreak, that the Northern Cheyennes had, very soon after their arrival on that reservation, shown a spirit of discontent, saying that they came to stay only as long as they liked it; that they insisted upon having their rations issued, not to heads of families, according to law, but to the chiefs of bands in bulk, which the agent very properly refused to do; that differences arose between the discontented element and the rest of the Indians on the reservation, which resulted in bad feeling; and that in consequence of these things finally the outbreak took place. It has also been said these Indians were furnished with arms by the agent himself, or through his connivance with other evil-disposed persons. The report of the Commissioner states that the arms in the possession of these Indians consisted of about one hundred Springfield carbines taken from General Custer's command, and that with those arms they had a large quantity of ammunition; from which it would appear that the disarming of these Indians before they were located on the reservation near Fort Reno had been very incomplete. other instances Indian outbreaks are traceable to the treatment they receive at the hands of the whites, it appears from the information quoted that in this case the outbreak was owing to the mischievous spirit of bad men among the Indians themselves, and their determination to return northward to their old hunting-grounds. While in many Nearly all of these runaway Cheyennes have been captured, or have surrendered, and are now held as prisoners by the military authorities. In the interest of general discipline, and in order to show the Indians that nothing can be gained by such disorderly conduct, it is thought best to return them to their reservation in the Indian Territory, after having given the civil authorities of the State of Kansas an opportunity to identify those who committed murders and other crimes while passing through that State, so that they may be dealt with according to law. thriftless paupers of industrious and hitherto self-supporting tribes. It is difficult to see how they can be placed in the Territory of Arizona elsewhere, without arousing against them fierce opposition on the part of white people. Inspector Watkins was sent to inquire into their condition, and reports in favor of their removal to the Indian Territory, for which, as he thinks, an appropriation of $25,000 will be sufficient. concur in that recommendation. THE BANNOCKS. The report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs gives an elaborate and very interesting account of the outbreak of the Bannocks last spring. It must be admitted that they were insufficiently supplied with food, which, however, was owing to an appropriation of money by Congress utterly inadequate to their wants. Formerly those Indians had supplied themselves in part by hunting, but in consequence of the Nez Percé war they were kept on their reservation, in order to avoid greater disorders. Thus they were deprived of that resource, and the money available for feeding them amounted only to less than 43 cents a head per day. This created discontent among them; then a murder of a white man was committed by an Indian; the Indian was arrested, tried, and hung; the discontent grew into excitement; a military detachment attempted to disarm and dismount them, but with only partial success; and finally the events took place which appear in the Commissioner's report in a series of dispatches and letters, giving a full and circumstantial account of the causes, progress, and incidents of the trouble. To this account I would respectfully call your attention. After a protracted pursuit and several encounters, the hostile Bannocks were dispersed, and most of them surrendered and are now held as prisoners. The military authorities have called upon the Interior Department to take them off their hands, and it is intended to transport them to the Yakama Reservation, and to put them under the charge of Mr. Wilbur, the most successful agent in the service. THE NORTHERN CHEYENNES. Another disturbance was created by a portion of the band of Northern Cheyennes, who, on the 9th day of September last, suddenly left their reservation, in the immediate vicinity of Fort Reno, in the Indian Territory, and marched northward, through Kansas and Nebraska, toward Dakota, committing many murders and other atrocities on their way. The causes which led to this trouble have been made the subject of special inquiry by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and his report is very complete and specific on that subject. It has been stated and widely believed that the Northern Cheyennes were driven to this outbreak by hunger, and that starvation was caused by a neglect on the part of the government officials to furnish them supplies according to treaty. From the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs it appears that they received the same rations which were furnished to the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes on the same reservation; that they received those rations with the same regularity; and that their supplies were not only fully up to but rather in excess of the quantity provided by treaty, such quantity being amply sufficient to satisfy their actual wants, and that the only articles withheld from them at any time were flour at two issues only, in consequence of late appropriations, which deficiency was made good by extra beef; and coffee, sugar, and tobacco withheld, according to law, from those who refused to do any work, which law the agent in charge of those Indians properly considered himself bound as much as possible to execute. It may be added that while a little less than 300 Northern Cheyennes broke out, 4,700 Northern and Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes remained on the reservation perfectly quiet, having received the same treatment. The report of the Commissioner also states, as the true cause of the outbreak, that the Northern Cheyennes had, very soon after their arrival on that reservation, shown a spirit of discontent, saying that they came to stay only as long as they liked it; that they insisted upon having their rations issued, not to heads of families, according to law, but to the chiefs of bands in bulk, which the agent very properly refused to do; that differences arose between the discontented element and the rest of the Indians on the reservation, which resulted in bad feeling; and that in consequence of these things finally the outbreak took place. It has also been said these Indians were furnished with arms by the agent himself, or through his connivance with other evil-disposed persous. The report of the Commissioner states that the arms in the possession of these Indians consisted of about one hundred Springfield carbines taken from General Custer's command, and that with those arms they had a large quantity of ammunition; from which it would appear that the disarming of these Indians before they were located on the reservation near Fort Reno had been very incomplete. While in many other instances Indian outbreaks are traceable to the treatment they receive at the hands of the whites, it appears from the information quoted that in this case the outbreak was owing to the mischievous spirit of bad men among the Indians themselves, and their determination to return northward to their old hunting-grounds. Nearly all of these runaway Cheyennes have been captured, or have surrendered, and are now held as prisoners by the military authorities. In the interest of general discipline, and in order to show the Indians that nothing can be gained by such disorderly conduct, it is thought best to return them to their reservation in the Indian Territory, after having ven the civil authorities of the State of Kansas an opportunity to dentify those who committed murders and other crimes while passing Though that State, so that they may be dealt with according to law. THE UTES. Congress, at its last session, passed an act directing the Secretary of the Interior to appoint a commission to treat with the Utes, in the State of Colorado, for a cession of a large portion of their reservation, and their settlement upon White River, in that State, if such settlement should prove advisable. The commission was to report before final action should be taken. That report has not yet been rendered, but, as I am informed, will be ready for transmission to Congress during the coming session. PUBLIC LANDS. The report of the Commissioner of Lands, which I herewith present, gives an abstract of the operations of the General Land Office under the laws relating to the survey and disposal of public lands during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878. During the year ending June 30, 1878, public lands were disposed of as follows: Cash entries An increase over the previous fiscal year of 136,868.57 acres. Homestead entries...... An increase of 2,240,336.75 acres. Timber-culture entries.... An increase of 1,349,760.79 acres. Desert-land entries... This being the first entire year of the operation of the act of March 3, 1877. Agricultural-college scrip location..... A decrease of 640 acres. Military-warrant locations... State selections approved: For school indemnity... For internal improvements For agricultural colleges.. For universities For salt springs For public buildings.. Acres. 877,555. 14 4, 418, 344.92 1,870, 434. 18 310,553, 05 640.00 84,720.00 50, 142.59 17, 420.39 24, 097.40 44, 844. 43 24, 114. 56 29, 146, 33 Locations of scrip in lieu of lands embraced in private land-claims.... Approved or patented to States as swamp.... A decrease of 211,492.51 acres. Certified for railroad purposes....... A decrease of 94,451.31 acres. Certified for canal purposes Total.. 10,900. 96 83, 143. 60 202, 925. 85 603, 340, 65 5,628.00 8, 683, 178.88 A quantity greater by 3,836,411.18 acres than that disposed of the preceding year. This increase is in the homestead entries for actual settlement and for timber culture. The cash receipts were $2,022,532.16, an increase of $569,562.93. During the year 8,041,011.83 acres were surveyed, making, with the quantity previously surveyed, 724,311,477 acres, and leaving yet to be surveyed 1,090,461,171 acres. TIMBER LANDS. In my last annual report I called attention to the necessity of rigorous measures for the suppression of depredations upon the timber lands of the United States. During the past year the employment of special agents for that purpose was continued, and proceedings against depredators instituted, as far as existing laws and the appropriations made by Congress would permit. I regret to say that at times the operations of the department were seriously hampered by the lack of available funds, but appropriations made on April 30 and June 20, 1878, rendered the employment of a larger number of agents possible, as well as the making of surveys in the preparation of evidence to sustain prosecutions. The report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office gives a detailed statement of the settlements made, verdicts obtained, and suits still pending. It was to be expected that the measures taken by this department for the protection of the public timber lands would meet with stubborn opposition on the part of lumbermen and others directly or indirectly interested in those depredations. Here and there the proceedings of the special agents of the department were complained of as oppressive and otherwise improper, and in every instance careful inquiries into the facts were instituted. Such inquiries resulted almost uniformly in the vindication of the agents employed. When it was found that private property had been seized, together with timber unlawfully taken from the public lands, or with lumber manufactured therefrom-which was sometimes unavoidable-prompt restitution was ordered. An officer of the Treasury Department, detailed for that purpose, was sent to the State of Louisiana, where charges of improper practices on the part of our timber agent had been preferred with particular urgency. The elaborate report rendered by that officer not only justifies the conduct of the agent of this department employed in that State, who while in the discharge of his duty fell a victim to the yellow fever, but it puts the extent of the depredations committed there and the necessity of their suppression in the clearest light. Complaint was also made that our efforts to arrest the wanton destruction of the forests in some of the mountainous Territories of the Northwest had inflicted great hardship upon the settlers there. But there is information in possession of this department showing that no such hardship resulted from the measures taken; that the price of firewood remained the same; that the settlers |