RESERVATION POLICY PACIFIC NORTHWEST 5
of the Coast Range ; the prevalence of small valleys adaptable to cultivation; the complete separation of the country by the Coast Range from the Willamette Valley ; the uninviting coast which repelled ingress from the sea, and the unattractiveness of the small valleys for white settlements. These recom- mendations were concluded by the following statement which described the status of the Indian policy in the summer of 1853 :
"It is evident that a delay in coming to a full and definite understanding with the Indian bands residing in the settle- ments serves greatly to increase the difficulty of final adjust- ment. In the absence of instructions from the department, I feel much embarrassed how to proceed in adjusting diffi- culties. My conviction, from what I have said, may be easily inferred, that these evils can scarcely be mitigated by any means in my power, and only abated by the removal of the Indians. The peace of society, the security of property, the welfare of the Indians, demand it. 12
Further recommendations were made by Palmer, October 8, 1853. They were included in his annual report which was received by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs too late to be printed in the annual report of the Commissioner for 1853. This communication has not previously been printed. 12 ' The importance of the document is, that the recommendations made in it became the basis for the reservation Indian policy for the Pacific Northwest. That there were recommendations in the report urging that treaties be negotiated for the purchase of the lands from the Indians of Oregon Territory which would provide reservations for the Indians, and assistance to them in establishing themselves as settled peoples, is shown by the reference to them in a special report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 6, 1854, which will be discussed a little later. 13
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs, November 26, 1853, pointed out the necessity of adopting some systematic policy in dealing with the Indians of the Far West. He stated that no plan had been decided upon for any part of the region. It
12 Ibid., p. 451.
12' Joel Palmer to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Oct. 8, 1853. Indian Office, Archives. (Dr. J. Franklin Jameson procured for the writer photostats of this report, a copy of which is reproduced in the appendix.)
13 The Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, Feb. 6, 1854, Letter from the Secretary of the Interior transmitting a report from the Com- missioner of Indian Affairs recommending the speedy making of treaties with the Indian tribes of the Territories of Oregon and Washington, Feb. 9, 1854 (Serial 721, Doc. 55), pp. 1-3.
