Report of the Secretary of the Interior/1881

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1880

Report of the Secretary of the Interior
by Henry M. Teller

1881

1882

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950255Report of the Secretary of the Interior — 1881Henry M. Teller

REPORT

OF

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

Department of the Interior,

November 1, 1881.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the reports of the chiefs of bureaus of this department and of the superintendents of the institutions under its supervision, showing the operations of the department for the past year. I also submit such recommendations and suggestions touching the administration of the department as I deem necessary and appropriate.

INDIAN AFFAIRS.

The Indian question, as it is called, has lost nothing of its interest or importance, and the methods by which it shall be finally settled are not yet fully recognized. All who have studied the question unite in the opinion that the end to be attained is the civilization of the Indians and their final absorption into the mass of our citizens, clothed with all the rights and instructed in and performing all the duties of citizenship. The difficulty lies in devising and executing the means by which this end shall be accomplished.

The difficulties to be overcome are mainly these: The Indians do not speak and do not wish to learn to speak our language; hence all business with them by the government and by individuals has been and must be transacted through the medium of interpreters. Misunderstandings must continue to arise in the future, as they have arisen in the past, between the government and the Indians, under this condition of affairs, and so long as it shall continue, the Indians, unable to carry on in person ordinary business transactions with our citizens generally or even with their agents, are completely isolated, and are compelled to adhere to that tribal relation which so greatly stands in the way of their advancement. It is not probable that much can be done in the way of teaching our language to adult Indians, but much may be done and is being done in the direction of so teaching those of school age, and our efforts to maintain and extend Indian schools should be earnest and constant. The civilization fund, which has been devoted largely to educational purposes, will be exhausted before the end of this fiscal year if the schools already established shall be continued. The schools at Carlisle and Forest Grove are supported wholly from this fund, and a number of Indian youth of both sexes are maintained at Hampton therefrom. These schools must be abandoned unless Congress shall make provision for their support. The schools at the agencies should be cherished and strengthened. It is idle to expect any material advancement by the Indians in civilization until they have learned to speak and write our language and to labor for their living, and these things to a great extent go hand in hand. Those of middle age and over are I fear beyond our reach. We must depend mainly upon the proper training of the youth. To do this we must teach them, and to teach them will cost money. If we really mean to civilize them we must incur the expense necessary to that end. Our whole Indian policy, in my judgment, has been characterized by a parsimony which has borne the more respectable but undeserved name of economy. We have acted very much as does the man, who, burdened with a heavy debt, contents himself with paying the interest without diminishing the principal. I am satisfied that in the management of our Indian affairs we have found, as many have found in the management of their private affairs, that the policy which, for the time being, seemed the cheapest, in the end has proved the most expensive. When the Indian shall have learned to speak and write our language, to earn his own living by his own labor, to obey the law and aid in making and administering it, the Indian problem will be solved, and not until then. Money wisely applied to these ends will be well spent; money withheld from these ends will be extravagance.

Again, all the traditions of our Indians teach them that the only proper occupation for a brave is war or the chase, and hence they regard labor, manual labor, as degrading. We should not be impatient with them on that account, for while it may be curious that it should be so, it is, I fear, true that this opinion of these people standing on the confines of savagery is held by many who believe themselves to have reached the very topmost heights of civilization and refinement. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the Indian does not willingly engage in manual labor. But if he is to make upward progress—to become civilized—he must labor. The game on which he lived is gone, or so nearly gone that he cannot longer rely on it for food, and yet he must have food. The government, recognizing this situation, has undertaken to and does furnish a large portion of our Indians food and clothing, and at the same time has been endeavoring to teach them to become self-supporting by assigning to them land for cultivation, furnishing them with farming tools, horses and harness, and encouraging them to work. But two difficulties have attended this system, although it has met with considerable success. The first is that adult Indians, thoroughly grounded in the faith that labor is degrading, prefer pauperism to independence; that is, prefer to live upon food furnished by the labor of others to earning their food by their own labor—a preference which is perhaps shared with them by some white men. This is not true, however, of all Indians. Many individuals of some of the tribes are willing to work, and are working, under difficulties, but it still remains true that many others are content to be and will remain mere paupers.

The other difficulty in the way of making the Indians self-supporting is that we have not given them a fair chance to become so. The titles of the Indians to most of their reservations, perhaps to all of them except those in the Indian Territory, are not such as the courts are bound to protect. They are compelled to rely largely, if not entirely, upon the executive and legislative departments of the government. The reservations set apart by treaty, or law, or executive order, have been usually many times larger than necessary (if cultivated) for the support of the tribes placed thereon. Our people, in their march westward, have surrounded these reservations, and seeing in them large tracts of fertile land withheld from the purpose for which they believe it was intended—cultivation—have called upon the executive and legislative departments to make new treaties, new laws, and new orders, and these calls have generally been heeded. Now, it is clear that no Indian will with good heart engage in making and improving a farm with the knowledge or the prospect that after he has so done he may at any time be required to leave it and "move on." In the case of the Indian, he may have the privilege of keeping his home if he will sever the ties of kinship and remain behind his tribe: but few do this. I wish to emphasize the point that we are asking too much of the Indian when we ask him to build up a farm in the timber or on the prairie, with the belief that at some future time he will be compelled to choose between abandoning the fruits of his labor, or his kindred and tribe. White men would not do so, and we should not ask Indians to do so.

I therefore earnestly recommend two things, in case the present number of reservations shall be maintained: First, that existing reservations, where entirely out of proportion to the number of Indians thereon, be, with the consent of the Indians, and upon just and fair terms, reduced to proper size; and, second, that the titles to these diminished reserves be placed by patent as fully under the protection of the courts as are the titles of all others of our people to their land. I would not, in reducing the reservations, so reduce them as to leave to the Indians only an area that would suffice for an equal number of whites. Their attachment to kin and tribe is stronger than among civilized men, and I would so arrange that the Indian father of to-day might have assurance that his children as well as himself could have a home. I would also provide in the patent for the reservations that so long as the title to any portion of the reservation remained in the tribe, adult Indians of the tribe who would locate upon and improve particular parcels of the reservation, should have an absolute title to the parcels so improved by them; and I would provide against alienation, either by the tribe of the tribal title, or by individuals of their personal title, for a limited time. As an additional inducement for heads of families to take land in severalty and engage in farming, provision should be made to aid such of them as do so in building houses thereon. The sum of $50, carefully expended by a judicious agent, will enable an Indian on many of the reservations, with his own labor, to build a house as comfortable as those occupied by many of our frontier settlers, and much more comfortable than the lodges in which they have been accustomed to live; and when so situated in his own house, on his own land, with a beginning made in the way of farming, a feeling of personal ownership and self-reliance will be developed and produce good results. And in building houses preference should be given to those who have selected land in severalty and made a certain amount of improvement thereon, and the offer of such aid should be held out as an inducement so to do. If a liberal sum was placed in the control of the Indian Office every year to be expended for this purpose exclusively, the effect would be excellent. A wise liberality in this direction would, in my judgment, be true economy.

There are now in the States and Territories west of the Mississippi River 102 reservations, great and small, on which are located, in round numbers, 224,000 Indians. The numbers on the different reservations vary from a few hundred to several thousand. There are attached to these reservations sixty-eight agencies, each with its staff of employes. There are also established near them, for the protection alike of the whites and Indians, thirty-seven military posts, with larger or smaller garrisons. The transportation of supplies to so many and so widely scattered agencies and military posts is very expensive, and our Army is so small that the garrisons at many of the posts are not sufficient either to prevent outbreaks or to suppress them promptly when they occur. It is my duty to say, and I say with great pleasure, that the military authorities have, when called upon by this Department, always responded with promptness and efficiency; but it must be apparent to all who have had occasion to note their operations, that they have been seriously embarrassed in their efforts to concentrate speedily at particular points sufficient force to meet emergencies. The peculiar conditions attending the transaction of public business for some months have prevented me from giving this subject the attention that in my opinion it deserves; but I am strongly inclined to believe that if all the Indians west of the Mississippi were gathered upon four or five reservations, our Indian affairs could be managed with greater economy to the government and greater benefit to the Indians.

In view of the facts stated as to existing reservations, I recommend that Congress be asked to create a commission of three or four eminent citizens to visit during the next year the reservations west of the Mississippi River, for the purpose of recommending to Congress, if they shall deem it wise to do so, the concentration of the Indians on four or five large reservations, to be selected in different parts of the West, on which the different tribes shall be located; and if this shall in the judgment of the commission not be wise, then to recommend the concentration of existing small agencies, where that can properly be done, and the reduction of the area of others to dimensions proportionate to the number of Indians now located thereon.

I expected to transmit herewith a statement showing the acreage of each reservation, distinguishing between farming land, pasture land, timber and waste land, by comparing which with the number of Indians on each reservation, it would be easy to determine whether in justice to the Indians and in the public interest any of the reservations could be reduced in size. The necessary information for such statement has not as yet been received, but I hope it will be in the possession of the Department at an early day.

The tribal relation is a hinderance to individual progress. It means communism so far at least as land is concerned. It interferes with the administration of both civil and criminal law among the members of the tribe, and among members of the tribe and non-members. The Indians should learn both to know the law and to administer it. They will not become law-abiding citizens until they shall so learn. In my judgment it would be well to select some tribe or tribes among those most advanced in civilization, and establish therein a form of local government as nearly like, as may be, to the system of county government prevailing in the State or Territory in which the reservations are located, allowing the Indians to elect corresponding county officers having corresponding power and authority to enforce such laws of the State or Territory as Congress may deem proper to declare in force on each reservation for local purposes. Should the experiment prove successful it would, I think, be a long step forward in the path the Indian must travel if he shall ever reach full and intelligent citizenship. The ballot and trial by jury are tools to which Indian hands are not accustomed, and would doubtless be used by them awkwardly for a time, but if the Indian is to become in truth a citizen, he must learn to use them, and he cannot so learn until they are placed within his reach. It is better to move in the right direction, however slowly and awkwardly, than not to move at all.

DEFINITION OF CRIMES.

Further legislation is, in my judgment, necessary for the definition and punishment of crime committed on reservations, whether by Indians in their dealings with each other, by Indians on white men, or by white men on Indians. A good deal of uncertainty exists on these points, which should be removed. It is also important that the liability of Indians who engage in hostile acts against the government and our people should be declared more clearly and fully. During the present year the Apaches have committed many outrages in New Mexico and Arizona. A number of those thus engaged are now in confinement. Are they prisoners of war or criminals? Should not the liability of Indians thus engaged be clearly defined? Should not all crimes committed on reservations be clearly defined, the punishment thereof fixed, and the trial therefor provided in the United States courts? We know that polygamy prevails among most if not all the Indian tribes, and all history shows the degrading influence of that system wherever it prevails. We are endeavoring to civilize the Indians; should we not take measures to remove this obstacle to their civilization?

STOCK RAISING.

I am satisfied that some of the reservations now occupied by Indians are not well adapted to farming purposes, for the reason that the rainfall is not sufficient to make the raising of good crops reasonably certain. This is the case, in my opinion, in that portion of the Indian Territory occupied by the Cheyennes and Arapahoes near Fort Reno, and by the Kiowas and Comanches near Fort Sill. The soil is fertile but cannot be farmed profitably, as I am informed, without irrigation, the necessary works for which the Indians have neither the knowledge nor the means to establish.

It would, I think, be much better to teach the Indians on such reservations to become herdsmen, than to endeavor to teach them farming. If the government would, at each of the Agencies named, provide a herd of cattle to be cared for and managed by Indians, under the supervision of the agent, to be added to by annual purchases and natural increase, and not to be diminished for the use of the Indians until it should have attained such size as to be sufficient for all their wants, and then, under proper restrictions, turned over to them, with the distinct understanding that they must depend upon it and not upon the government, we would, in my judgment, make them self-sustaining much sooner than by attempting to make farmers of them on lands not adapted to that purpose.

THE INDIAN TRUST FUND.

This fund, amounting to $2,186,050, of which the Treasurer of the United States is custodian and the Secretary of the Interior is trustee, was invested in United States 5 per cent. bonds issued under acts of July 14, 1870, and January 20, 1871. On the l6th of May last, I was notified by the Treasury Department that interest would cease on these and other like bonds August 12, 1881, and the bonds be paid, but that if desired the bonds could be continued at three and a half per cent. Believing that such continuance would be to the profit of the fund, request to that end was duly made, and on the 28th of June, 1881, notice of such continuance was communicated to this department by the Treasurer. I then requested the Treasurer to sell the bonds thus continued, which he did, selling $500,000 July 15, 1881, at 2½ per cent. premium, and the balance, $1,686,050, August 11, 1881, at 2 per cent. premium, realizing a gross premium of $44,971 to the profit of the fund. The principal sum of $2,186,050 has been, under the law, covered into the Treasury and draws five per cent. interest, and the premium above stated has been, under the decision of the First Comptroller, carried to the interest account of the fund.

RIGHT OF WAY TO RAILROADS THROUGH INDIAN RESERVATIONS.

During the last fifteen months, quite a number of railroad corporations have made application to the department for permission to construct their railroads through Indian reservations, urging the necessity of supplying the needs of the white people on our frontier, and the civilizing influence of railroads on the Indians, as reasons why their requests should be granted.

The Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railway Company obtained permission, on May 24, 1880, to cross the Sisseton Reserve, in Dakota, occupied by the Sisseton and Wahpeton Sioux. The treaty with these Indians provides for the construction of railroads, under certain conditions, which I am advised have been carried out.

The Republican Valley Railroad Company, of Nebraska, in October and December of 1880, obtained permission from the Otoes and Missourias to cross their reservation in Nebraska. The treaty with these Indians provides for the building of railroads.

The Saint Paul and Sioux City Railroad Company, on April 19,1880, obtained permission to cross the Omaha Reservation, under the provision of the treaty with the Omahas which provides for the building of railroads.

The Carson and Colorado Railroad Company, on April 13, 1880, made an agreement with the Pi-Utes to cross the Walker River Reservation, Nevada, which was established by executive order. This privilege has not yet been confirmed.

The Dakota Central Railroad Company, on June 12, December 23, and December 31, 1880, entered into an agreement with the mixed tribes of Sioux living on the Sioux Reservation in Dakota, to build a railroad east and west through their reservation, in accordance with treaty stipulations.

The Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad Company, on November 2,1880, made a similar agreement with the same Indians to cross the Territory east and west.

The Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, on June 10, 1881, in accordance with treaty stipulations, made an agreement with the Walla-Wallas Cayuses, and Umatillas to construct its line across the Umatilla Reserve in Oregon.

On July 18,1881, by authority of the President, on the application of the Utah and Northern Railroad Company, an officer of the government obtained an agreement from the Shoshones and Bannocks living on the Fort Hall Reservation, Idaho, by which the right of way and the necessary lands for railroad purposes east and west across the reservation were granted on the payment of suitable compensation; the agreement, however, to be ratified by Congress. The treaty with these Indians makes no provisions for railroads.

On August 22,1881, the Crow Indians, on the Crow Reserve, Montana, entered into an agreement permitting the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to construct its road through the reservation, subject to ratification by Congress, there being no treaty providing for the same.

On June 18, 1881, the Atchison and Nebraska Railroad Company obtained permission from the Iowa Indians on the Iowa Reserve, Nebraska, to construct a road north and south through their reservation, in accordance with treaty stipulations.

My purpose is to submit to Congress, with my recommendation, the above-mentioned agreements for such action as may be deemed appropriate.

In addition to the above negotiations, an agent of the department is now in the Choctaw country, with directions to submit to the constituted authorities of that Nation the application of several railroads which desire the privilege of constructing their lines through the Choctaw country north and south. If the Nation acts favorably on the applications, and the same meet my approval, I will also transmit them to Congress for its action.

In May, 1880, in accordance with the provisions of the treaty with the Ute Indians in Colorado, the President issued a proclamation giving permission to the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company to cross over and occupy so much of the Ute Eeservation in Colorado as might be necessary for the right of way. Last spring, while the company was constructing its road under the proclamation, I received information that the Indians on the reservation had become alarmed at the presence of the working force of the railroad, and I immediately notified the president of the company that it must compensate the Indians for its occupation of their lands, or directions would be given to stop its construction. I have received no satisfactory answer to this and other similar communications, neither has any compensation been paid to the Indians for the occupation of their lands. I understand that the railroad has been constructed and is now in operation through that part of the Ute Reservation which is still occupied by Indians. I beg to recommend that suitable action be taken by Congress looking to an adjustment of the rights of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and the Indians in this transaction. It cannot be expected that the Indians will remain satisfied so long as the railroad company shall continue to make use of their lands without suitable compensation.

SAN CARLOS RESERVATION.

This reservation was established by Executive order on the 14th of December, 1872. Its boundary has not been surveyed. It is ascertained, however, that on the southern part of the reservation there are extensive deposits of coal. Fuel is scarce in the Territory of Arizona, in which this reservation lies, and hence the coal deposit is supposed to be very valuable. Parties have sought to contract with the Indians for the privilege of mining the coal, and during the last summer a contract of this kind was submitted to the department for approval. The contract was disapproved, as neither the Indians nor the department had lawful authority to make or approve such contract. I consider this matter of sufficient importance to call it to your special attention. The reservation is a large one, and might perhaps be so lessened without injury to the Indians as to exclude the deposits of coal, or, if this cannot be done, it may be enlarged to a corresponding extent elsewhere, and the coal bearing portion withdrawn from the reservation. The coal is and will be needed for the proper development of Arizona, but in providing for the sale of the land care should be taken that the coal is not monopolized by a single or a few parties to the injury of the Territory.

THE SIOUX AND THE PONCAS IN DAKOTA.

I refer with great pleasure to that portion of the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in which is set forth a copy of an agreement signed by the principal chiefs of nearly all the different bands of Sioux, at a council held in this city in August last for the benefit of the Poncas in Dakota. The conduct of the Sioux chiefs who signed the agreement was manly and generous, and deserves, I think, high commendation. Should the agreement receive the necessary number of signatures of adult male Sioux, it will be submitted for the consideration of Congress.

DEFICIENCIES.

I consider it very important that the attention of Congress be specially called to the following extracts from the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs:

DEFICIENCY APPROPRIATIONS.

As stated under the head of "Appropriation," owing to the large increase in the price of beef paid during the fiscal year 1882, the appropriations for the Indian service during 1882 will in many cases be insufficient. On the 20th of July last, the War Department turned over to this bureau 2,813 Sioux Indians, belonging to Sitting Bull's band, and for whose support no appropriation was made by Congress. Under your authority a deficiency of $195,000 was incurred for the purchase of the supplies and clothing for these Indians, and the amount will be included in the deficiency estimate to be submitted to Congress. Additional funds for the support of the following Indians for the present fiscal year, and for other purposes, will also be required, as follows: Support of Apaches in Arizona and New Mexico, $25,000; support of Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Apaches, Kiowas, Comanches, and Wichitas, $100,000; support of }} Blackfeet, Bloods, and Piegans, $15,000; support of Indians in central superintendency, $7,500; support of Modocs, $5,000; support of Navajoes, $5,000; support of Nez Percés of Joseph's band, $7,500; support of schools, $50,000; telegraphing and purchase of Indian supplies, $5,000; transportation of Indian supplies, $25,000. Large sums are also due different parties for goods and supplies furnished and for services rendered in 1873 and 1874, which have repeatedly been reported to Congress for appropriation, but none has so far been made. There is due the Western Union Telegraph Company, for messages transmitted during May and June, 1879, the sum of $361.65; contractors for transporting Indian goods and supplies during the fiscal year 1879, $9,556.63 ; during the fiscal year 1880, $44,882.14, and during the fiscal year 1881, about fifty thousand dollars. This indebtedness was incurred by this office under an absolute necessity, and early provision for its payment should be made by Congress.

Early in last spring it was found that the amount appropriated by Congress for the support of the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Apaches, Kiowas, Comanches, and Wichitas, located at the Cheyenne and Arapahoe and Kiowa, and Comanche Agencies, Indian Territory, for the fiscal year 1881, was insufficient to furnish them with beef, coffee, and sugar until the end of the fiscal year. The agents in charge were notified of the insufficient appropriations and directed to reduce the issue of beef, but in reply thereto submitted statements which convinced the department that to reduce the rations of those Indians was to invite a war. Copies of these letters were transmitted to Congress with a request for an additional appropriation, but the same was not granted. After the adjournment of Congress the case was submitted by you to the President, and, upon consultation with the honorable Secretary of War, it was decided that the War Department would furnish the agents at Cheyenne and Arapahoe, and Kiowa and Comanche Agencies with beef and flour until the end of the last fiscal year, the cost of these supplies to be reimbursed from any appropriation which may hereafter be made by Congress for that purpose. Accounts amounting to $59,232.01 have been presented by the War Department for reimbursement, and it is hoped that Congress, at an early day, will furnish this office with the means to cancel this debt.

TRANSPORTATION OF INDIAN SUPPLIES.

Owing to the failure of Congress to appropriate during the fiscal years 1879, 1880, and 1881 sufficient funds to pay for the transportation of goods and supplies to the different agencies, this office has been greatly embarrassed this summer by not having its stores promptly delivered. Contractors to whom the government owes over $100,000 for transportation services performed under former contracts are not very anxious to render services and wait for their pay several years. Flour delivered to the contractors for different agencies in October, 1880, was not delivered until July or August, 1881, and when this office urged them to comply more strictly with their contracts, their reply, that this office had no funds to pay them after service was rendered, appeared a sufficient excuse for the delay. The failure of Congress to appropriate last winter sufficient funds to pay outstanding indebtedness for transportation costs the government in increased price of transportation for the present fiscal year more than the interest on the money due, and while there are such large sums lying idle in the United States Treasury, the policy of not paying debts lawfully due appears to me very short-sighted. It cannot be expected that contractors will wait years for money due and honestly earned without attempting to get even with the government by charging increased rates of transportation, and for this reason it is urged that sufficient means be furnished this office to liquidate these debts. This would certainly be true economy.

The right of this office to incur this indebtedness above the amount appropriated cannot be questioned. Congress appropriates a certain amount of money to be used in the purchase of clothing and supplies, mostly due the Indians under treaty stipulation. Of what avail are these goods and supplies to the Indians, if sufficient funds}} are not appropriated to pay for transporting them to the different agencies, where they are required?

The attention of Congress has repeatedly been called to the insufficient amount appropriated yearly for transporting the goods and supplies, audit is earnestly hoped that the efforts of this office in obtaining means to pay the old indebtedness incurred, as well as in securing sufficient funds for the pesent and next fiscal year, will have better success than heretofore.

The Sioux, turned over by the War Department in July last, were prisoners of war, held as such until that time by the military authorities, and for whose support no estimates had been made by the Indian Office.

The administration of our Indian affairs is, at all times, and under all circumstances, embarrassing and difficult, but when to all other troubles is added that of insufficient appropriations, the embarrassment and difficulty are greatly increased.

SALARY OF COMMISSIONER AND APPOINTMENT OF ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER.

There is disbursed yearly, under the supervision of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in round numbers, the sum of about $6,000,000. Of this sum about $2,500,000 is paid for Indian supplies bought under contract, or in open market under his direction. The money and the supplies representing the whole amount are distributed at sixty-eight agencies scattered over our vast country between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. It is needless to say that to supervise this work requires a man of untiring industry, great business skill and training, and sterling integrity, because it is evident that upon the proper performance of this work depends not only the careful and economical expenditure of the public moneys, but to a great extent the preservation of peace among the Indian tribes. I submit that the government does not provide sufficient compensation for such service, when it is fortunate enough to have it, or to secure it at all times when it is needed. The salary now provided by law is $3,500 per annum. It is in my judgment wholly inadequate, and I earnestly recommend that it be increased to $4,500. I also recommend that provision be made for the appointment of an assistant commissioner, with a salary of $3,000 per annum. Such provision is in my judgment necessary for the prompt and proper discharge of the duties of the bureau, and I am convinced would prove of benefit to the public service.

PUBLIC LANDS.

During the year ending 30 June, 1881, public lands were disposed of as follows:

Cash sales:	Acres.
Private entries	666,229.11
Public sales	2,279.40
Timber and stone lands	42,987.92
Pre-emption entries	721,146.26
Desert lands	108,560.02
Mineral lands	27,179.68
Coal lands	4,975.58
Excesses	12,339.06
Abandoned military reservations	1,910.21
Total cash sales	1,587,617.24
Homestead entries	5,028,100.69
Timber-culture entries	1,763,799.35
Military-warrant localities	55,662.36
Agricultural College scrip locations	360.00
Supreme Court scrip locations	28,253.74
Valentine scrip locations	392.15
Sioux half-breed scrip locations	2,519.27
Chippewa half-breed scrip locations	800.00
Porterfield scrip locations	16.86
Lands certified or patented for railroad purposes to States.
Alabama	383.23
Iowa	73,321.58
Minnesota	483,466.63
Kansas	281,277.28
To corporations:
Pacific railroads	211,992.04
State selections approved for—
School idemnity	15,880.00
Internal improvements	1,760.00
Agricultural colleges	1,370,45
Seminaries	3,964.14
Donation claims	18,237.06
Swamp	569,001.18
Grand total	10,128,175.25

The cash receipts from all sources, sales, fees, and commissions, for the last fiscal year amounted to $4,402,112.53.

The total area of the land States and Territories is 1,814,788,922 acres, of which 784,906,980 acres have been surveyed.

The area of lands surveyed the last fiscal year was greater by 6,058,759 acres than that of the previous year.

The area of public lands disposed of the last fiscal year was less by 3,898,974.60 acres than that of the previous year; the aggregate cash receipts were greater by $2,508,642.56.

Besides these public lands, there were disposed of during the last fiscal year by the General Land Office, Indian lands amounting to 765,221.80 acres, for which was received the sum of $1,006,691.63, deposited in the Treasury for the benefit of the Indians.

THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE.

I invite especial attention to that portion of the letter of the Commissioner of the General Land Office to me of date October 25, 1881, relating to the clerical force required for his office for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883. The work of the office is much in arrears. It is very important to the many individuals whose interests are affected by its action that such action shall at all times be prompt and that delay in settling the questions before the office shall not occur. Such delay is not only unjust to the parties whose interests are involved, but tends to embarrass and hinder the work actually done by requiring a portion of the force now employed to answer the numerous letters of inquiry written by parties who are impatient at the (to them) unaccountable delay in having their business disposed of. If permitting the work to fall in arrears dispensed with doing it altogether, we might congratulate ourselves that we had saved the expense of doing it, although our failure to do it had worked great injury to those whose work the office was created to do and who share in the cost of maintaining it. But the work must and will be done sooner or later, and I submit that it is not only just and right, but it is in the long run cheaper to provide sufficient force to do it promptly.

I concur in the recommendation of the Commissioner that authority of law be given for the appointment of a deputy commissioner who shall assist him in the discharge of his duties and perform such other duties as may be prescribed.

I also concur in the recommendation of the Commissioner for the appointment of three inspectors of surveyor-general and district land offices. It is impossible for the Land Office with the means now provided to keep careful supervision over their offices, situated so far from the seat of government. The information received concerning them is usually ex parte and often contradictory, and in many cases is not received until it is too late to prevent much maladministration.

If surveyors-general and district land officers were aware that an agent of the government might at any time visit their respective offices, with authority to examine their books and papers, and by personal examination to ascertain their condition, it seems that great benefit would thereby result to the public service.

Said inspectors would also be of great assistance when hew land districts are created and offices opened, and when a change of officers occurs.

SURVEYS UNDER DEPOSIT SYSTEM.

For the reasons named in the report of the Commissioner (pages 6, 7, and 8), I recommend the repeal of the act of March 3, 1879, entitled "An act to amend section twenty-four hundred and three of the Revised Statutes of the United States, in relation to deposits for surveys." Under the present law there seems good reason to believe that extensive surveys are made far in advance of any legitimate demand; it is impossible to test the accuracy of the field work, and it is probable that when, in the future, a survey shall be needed, the work will have to be done again.

PRIVATE LAND CLAIMS IN NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA, AND COLORADO.

I call special attention to that portion of the letter of the Commissioner of the General Land Office relating to private land claims in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. The uncertainty existing as to the validity of these claims and their extent makes the title to them of merely speculative value and.retards the sales and settlements, greatly to the injury of the sections in which these claims are situate. The present system for the settlement of these claims appears to be wholly inadequate, and some more efficient system should be speedily provided.

LAND-GRANT RAILROADS.

Fifty miles of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad west of Albuquerque,New Mexico, were accepted by President Hayes on the 17th December last; and fifty miles by President Garfield on the 18th April last. One hundred additional miles of this road are now ready for examination, and commissioners have been appointed for that purpose.

Fifty miles of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Dakota Territory, west of the Missouri River, were accepted by President Hayes on the 20th December last, one hundred additional miles, partly in Dakota and partly in Montana, have recently been examined, but have not yet been accepted. Two hundred and twenty five miles in Eastern Washington and Idaho are now under examination by commissioners.

One hundred and thirty miles of the New Orleans Pacific Railroad have recently been examined, but have not yet been accepted. One hundred and twenty-three additional miles are now ready for examination.

REPAYMENTS.

The price of reserved sections within the limits of railroad land grants is by law double the minimum price for similar lands outside such limits. It has happened in many instances that local land officers have supposed parcels of land to be within land grant limits when in fact they were not, and have sold them to purchasers at double minimum price, thus placing in the Treasury of the United States in each case a sum of money to which the government was not entitled, and which in all good conscience belonged to the party by whom it had been paid.

Accordingly Congress, by act of June 16, 1880, provided that "in all cases where parties have paid double minimum price for land which has afterwards been found not to be within the limits of a railroad land grant, the excess of one dollar and twenty five cents per acre shall in like manner be repaid to the purchaser thereof, or to his heirs or assigns." (Supplement to Revised Statutes, page 565.)

Under this provision the First Comptroller of the Treasury has held that where the purchaser has conveyed the land since June 16, 1880, his grantee, and not the purchaser, is entitled to the money, for the reason that the grantee is the assignee within the meaning of the act. Aside from the question whether the word "assignee" in the act shall be construed to mean the grantee of the land, which I do not admit, there is what seems to me to be involved a grave question. If it be admitted, as this act clearly admits, that the government honestly owes a particular person a sum of money, and therefore should pay it, can the government acquit itself of that obligation by paying the amount to another person?

I have not been able to reach the conclusion that Congress so intended to declare in the act of June 16, 1880, and have therefore declined to approve requisitions upon the Treasury for payment in this class of cases to the grantee of the land instead of the original purchaser until Congress shall declare its intention in more clear and precise terms than are contained in the act mentioned.

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF RAILROADS.

The report of the Commissioner of Railroads, herewith presented, gives the operations of that office during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, under the law relating to indebted Pacific railroad companies and certain land-grant railroads.

Two inspection trips have been made during the year for the purpose of examining the properties and accounts of the several subsidized railroads—one by the then Commissioner, extending from April 20 to June 18, 1881, and the other by the bookkeeper temporarily in charge of the office, extending from August 18 to October 7, 1881.

About 6,900 miles of subsidized and land-grant railroads subject to the supervision of the bureau have been examined, and their books (especially those of the Union and Central Pacific roads) carefully compared with the reports as rendered by the companies.

Among the properties included in the inspections, aside from the Union and Central Pacific, were those of the Southern Pacific, Atlantic and Pacific, Central Branch Union Pacific, and the Sioux City and Pacific Companies, in all of which the United States is interested as creditor or otherwise.

Although the past severe and protracted winter was accompanied by unusual floods and storms, which destroyed much property and materially increased the expenditures for maintaining the same, it was noticeable that a substantial improvement in the property of the roads in which the government has a direct interest had been made, and in general the reports rendered indicate a marked increase in their business.

The Union Pacific Railway is building an extension from Granger—a station on their main line, 156 miles east of Ogden, to Baker City, Oreg., via Port Neuf, on the Utah Northern Railroad—which will connect at Baker City with the Oregon system of railroads, and thus acquire an outlet to the Pacific coast, independent of the Central Pacific. It is represented that the work will be completed at an early date.

The Central Pacific Railroad Company has, by lease of the Southern Pacific of Arizona and New Mexico, which is now completed to Deming, N. Mex., and there connects with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad, secured a through route from the Pacific coast, independent of the Union Pacific.

The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad is being rapidly constructed from the east and the west.

THE UNION PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY.

The property and business of this company is reported on in full, and has been found in good condition, with business increasing.

The company has furnished reports, from which the following statements are derived:

Length of line subsidized with bonds

Miles

1,432.62

Length of line subsidized with lands

do

1,783.17

Leased to the Central Pacific

do

5.00

Operated by the Union Pacific

do

1,818.80

Stock subscribed

$61,000,000 00

Stock issued

60,673,745 00

Par value

100 00

United States subsidy bonds

33,539,512 00

Other funded debt

81,987,405 00

Total stock and debt

176,200,662 00

Increase of stock during the year

9,911,445 00

Floating debt and interest account to June 30, 1881, on subsidy and other bonds

28,430,686 60

Bonds and stocks of, and investments in, other companies

28,718,560 42

Material on hand

$2,794,893 97

Cash on hand

2,333,343 45

Accounts receivable

2,870,998 81

7,999,236 23

Cost of road and equipment, per company's books

155,708,861 58

The following statement shows the earnings for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, as per reports submitted by the company:

Passenger

$4,970,646 85

Freight

15,957,560 64

Miscellaneous

1,837,544 59

22,765,752 08

Operating expenses

11,474,910 08

Net earnings

11,290,842 00

Interest paid

6,147,859 24

Dividends paid

3,607,448 13

Under the sinking-fund act of May 7, 1878, the "25 per cent. of net earnings" due the United States from that part of the road to which the act applies has not yet been determined for the year ending December 31,1880, items amounting to the sum of $762,440.87 not being adjusted.

CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY.

The property and accounts of this company have been examined and the details of the same embodied in the Commissioner's report. The condition of the property is improving and the business materially increasing. This company leases and operates the Southern Pacific Railroad in California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The following statement is taken from reports furnished by the company:

Number of miles subsidized	860.66
Number of miles owned	1,204.50
Number of miles leased	1,513.00
Average number of miles operated during fiscal year ending June 30,1881	2,614.00
Locomotives owned, 226; leased,70	296
Passenger cars owned, 261; leased, 49	310
Baggage, mail, and express cars owned, 56; leased, 24	80
Freight and other ears owned, 5,616; leased, 2,351	7,967
Stock subscribed	$59,275,500 00
Stock issued	59,275.500 00
Par value	100 00
Subsidy bonds outstanding	27, 855,680 00
Funded debt	55,301,000 00
Floating debt	7,028,442 44
Interest accrued on subsidy bonds	21,778,122 61
Interest due and accrued on funded debt	1,433,095 00
Total debt	113,396,340 05
Capital stock and debt	172, 671, 840 05
Cost of road	136, 994,849 80
Equipment	8, 047,103 42
Real estate	2, 639,148 10
Total cost of road and equipment	147,681, 101 32
Cash, materials, and sinking funds	8,455,566 81
Bonds and stocks	334,604 90
Miscellaneous investments	1,899,995 66
Total	10,600,167 37

The earnings for the fiscal year ending June 30,1881, are reported as follows:

Passenger	$6,188,388 56
Freight	15, 216, 554 65
United States mail	463, 861 27
Miscellaneous earnings	1, 024, 540 09
Total	22,893,344 57
Operating expenses and rentals	13, 502, 504 48
Ordinary net earnings	9, 390,840 09
Interest paid	3,642,265 02
Dividends paid	3, 557, 530 00

Under the sinking-fund fund act of May 7, 1878, the "25 per cent. of net earnings" found due the United States by this company to December 31,1880, amounted to $1,037,225.28, which has been covered into the Treasury as follows:

Credit of bond and interest account	$428, 388 67
Credit of sinking-fund account	608, 836 61
Total	1,037,225 28

The company rendered transportation services amounting to $892,788.54, and made a cash payment of $144,436.74.

CENTRAL BRANCH UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD.

This road, with the leased lines controlled by it, is operated as a division of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company.

From the meager reports submitted by the company the following is derived:

Miles owned and subsidized	100
Miles leased	262
Stock issued	$1, 000, 000 00
Subsidy bonds	1, 600, 000 00
Interest on subsidy bonds	1, 357, 808 25
Gross earnings for year ending June 30, 1881, whole line	$914, 398 58
Operating expenses	566, 562 85
Net earnings	347,835 73

SIOUX CITY AND PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY.

Until the year ending June 30,1880, this road had not earned enough to pay operating expenses and interest on its first-mortgage bonds, consequently there was no "5 per cent. of net earnings" for the government, under the Supreme Court decision.

The length of road operated is 264.13 miles; road owned, 107.42; road subsidized, 101.77; number of locomotives, 12; passenger cars, 9; gage, mail, and express cars, 6; freight and other cars, 232. The earnings for the year ending June 30, 1881, are reported as follows:

Passenger .................. $140,387.81
Freight .................. 434,448.91
Miscellaneous .................. 30,359.52

Total .................. 605,196.24

Operating expenses .................. 540,502.66

Net earnings .................. 64,693.58

The liabilities and assets are follows:

Stock issued .................. $2,068,400.00
Subsidy bonds .................. 1,628,320.00
Interest on subsidy bonds .................. 1,268,899.09
First-mortgage bonds .................. 1,628,000.00
Interest on same .................. 52,485.00
Miscellaneous indebtedness ............... 531,561.51

Total stock and debt ................. 7,177,665.60

Cost of road and fixtures .................. 5,397,226.15,
Materials on hand .................. 65,439.62
Cash and bonds .................. 27,708.76
Miscellaneous investments .................. 312,800.00
Accounts receivable .................. 167,826.81

Total assets .................. 5,971,001.34

Deficit .................. 1,206,664.26

OREGON AND CALIFORNIA RAILROAD COMPANY.

The reports of this company show the length of road operated, 316.93 miles; number of locomotives, 20; number of passenger cars, 16; number of baggage, mail, and express, 6; number of freight and other cars, 441. Par value of shares, $100; stock issued, $19,000,000; funded debt, $15,940,000; floating debt, $6,112.513.39; total debt, $22,052,513.39; total stock and debt, $22,052,513.39. Cost of road, $12,019,154.90; cost of equipment, $813,784.08; cost of road and equipment, $12,832,938.98. Passenger earnings, $244,578.95; freight earnings, $350,239.82; miscellaneous earnings, $31.920.04; total earnings, $626,738.81. Operating expenses, including taxes, $528,589.18; net earnings, $98,149.63.

ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FÉ RAILROAD COMPANY.

This company reports operations for the year ending December 31, 1880, as follows:

Miles owned, 470.58; miles leased, 1,031.74; stock issued, $24,891,000; increase during year, $12,256,600; par value, $100; funded debt, $15,873,000; floating debt, $6,149,366.99; total debt, $22,022,366.99; stock and debt, $46,913,366.99; cost of road and equipment, $26,866,325.72; investments in other companies, $18,604,126; materials and supplies on hand, $1,118,488.93. Passenger earnings, $1,786,947.10; freight earnings, $6,515,527.30; miscellaneous earnings, $270,093.74; total earnings, $8,572,568.14; operating expenses, including taxes, rentals, &c., $4,905,902.89; net earnings, $3,666,665.25. Interest and discount paid, $1,457,090.21; dividends paid, $1,727,195. The company owns and leases 157 locomotives, 76 passenger cars, 33 baggage, mail, and express cars, and 5,227 freight cars.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY.

For the year ending June 30, 1881, the company reports as follows: Miles operated, 160.89; miles owned, 711.56; leased to Central Pacific, 550.67; number of locomotives, 48; passenger cars, 74; baggage, mail, and express, 15; freight and other cars, 1,158; stock issued, $36,763,900; funded debt, $28,774,000; floating debt, $699,279.43; interest due on first-mortgage bonds, $482,145; total debt, $29,955,424.43; stock and debt, $66,719,324.43; cash, material, and accounts due, $1,402,632.37; cost of road, $62,439,447.70; cost of equipment, $1,847,815.43; total cost of road and equipment, $64,287,263.13. Passenger earnings, $476,611.03; freight earnings, $602,434.40; miscellaneous earnings and rentals, $1,680,166.46; total earnings, $2,759,211.89; operating expenses, including taxes and insurance, $710,694.41; net earnings, $2,048,517.48; interest paid, $1,754,500.94.

TEXAS AND PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY.

Work upon this road is being pushed rapidly forward, and it is anticipated that the line will be completed and trains running through to El Paso not later than January 1, 1882. At present trains are running to Antelope, Tex., 640 miles west of Marshall, and 120 miles east of El Paso. The grading is completed to the latter point, and bridging and track are being pushed at a rapid rate.

The annual report of the operations of the road for the year ending June 30, 1881, has not been received at this department.

NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY.

For the year ending June 30, 1881, the company reports as follows: Miles operated, 754; number of locomotives, 104; passenger cars, 53; baggage, mail, and express, 15; freight and other cars, 3,021; capital stock, $100,000,000, less $8,687,411.05, canceled; funded debt, $21,586,800; floating debt, $1,472,090.65; total debt, $22,058,890.65; total stock and debt, $113,371,479.60; cost of road and equipment and lands, including lines under construction, $108,324,280.42; cash, $11,567,944.33; materials, $2,082,947.08; accounts receivable, $975,440.65. Passenger earnings, $668,420.92; freight earnings, $2,144,782.12; miscellaneous Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/25 Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/26 Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/27 Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/28 Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/29 Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/30 Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/31 The secret investigation of pension claims by special agents operating at the residence of claimants has been abolished by the Commissioner and open investigation substituted, without, in his opinion, detriment to the interests of the government.

Under the authority of a law passed at the last session of Congress he has extended this method of investigation to a larger proportion of cases than heretofore.

He recommends that provision be made by Congress for the employment of a larger number of examiners upon this work, at a compensation of $1,400 per annum, and $4 per diem, and necessary traveling expenses, and that provision be made for the payment of the expenses of the applicant when required to accompany the special examiner, and also for the compelling of the attendance of witnesses and for the payment of their expenses.

It is recommended in the report that the fee of examining surgeons be increased to $2 for each examination, and that provision be made for their expenses and a per diem allowance when they are required to examine, at their homes, pensioners who are unable to travel.

The Commissioner states that under existing laws the compensation of pension agents averages about $2,500, and that this amount is altogether disproportionate to their labors and responsibilities. He recommends that provision be made for an increase of their compensation, and that they be required to aid in the detection of fraudulent pension claims.

The Commissioner calls attention to the necessity for more definite legislation for the following purposes: to define by what officer commutation for artificial limbs shall be paid; to define the jurisdiction of the accounting officer of the Treasury in the matter of allowance made by the Commissioner of Pensions; to give authority to grant pensions in certain cases to soldiers who left the service without a discharge; and to give authority to fix dates for the commencement of pensions, upon the presumption of a soldier's death, when proof of the fact and date cannot be obtained.

In the sundry civil bill, approved March 3, 1881, provision was made for the purchase of a suitable site, in the city of Washington, for the erection of a fire-proof building for the use of the Pension Office; and $250,000 was appropriated for the purpose. The purchase of the site and the approval of the plans for the building were placed under the supervision of the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Interior, and Quartermaster-General of the Army. While it is believed to have been the intention of Congress to provide in the sum named for the erection of the building, the wording of the act precluded such construction, and it was therefore deemed proper to defer action until the defect could be cured by additional legislation on the subject.

PATENT OFFICE.

The report of the Commissioner of Patents shows an increase of business for the year ending June 30, 1881. The number of applications for patents was 22,932, an increase of 1,942 over the previous year. Applications for designs, 585; reissues, 588; caveats 2,342; trade-mark, 464; appeals, 771; disclaimers, 18; labels, 337.

The number of patents granted, including re-issues and designs, was 15,175, an increase over the former year of 1,526.

Number of trade-marks registered was 462; labels registered, 181; patents withheld for non payment of final fee, 1,439; patents expired, 4,272.

The total receipts of the office was $789,895.52, an increase over the previous year of $59,348.40.

The aggregate of appropriations for the office, including a deficiency of $8,429.06, was $607,299.06. Amount expended for printing, binding, &c., out of the appropriation for printing and binding for Department of the Interior, $142,432.47. Total expenditure on account of Patent Office, $749,731.53. Total receipts in excess of all expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1881, $40,163.99.

On account of the increase in the business of his office the Commissioner asks for an increase in the appropriation for the next fiscal year. He submits for salaries of officers and employés $518,820, an increase of $37,950; for publication of the Official Gazette, $29,000, an increase of $6,000; for photolithographing, $45,000, an increase of $10,000; for reproducing burnt and exhausted copies of drawings, including pay of temporary draughtsmen, $45,000, an increase of $10,000.

Under the law providing for the abridgment of patents, $10,000 were allowed. Work has been commenced in accordance with the plan laid down. It includes a brief statement of the invention patented, together with the claims of the inventor, and illustration of the device. For the continuation of this work the Commissioner asks for $50,000. This will provide for the abridgment of 15,000 patents, and the publication of an edition of 10,000 copies. The Commissioner urges the necessity of this abridgment, and is of opinion that the sale of copies will cover the expense of making the same.

An appropriation is also asked of $6,000 for the completion of the illustrations for the Patent Office Report of 1870. With the publication of this work the reports of the office up to the present time will be completed.

A deficiency of $722.15 for the publication of the Official Gazette during the last fiscal year and $1,000 for the current year are also submitted; likewise an estimated deficiency for the present year of $9,000 for photolithographing or otherwise producing copies of the weekly issues of drawings of patents, designs, and trade-marks.

The necessity for additional room for the Patent Office is becoming more urgent every year. With the present limited space at the disposal of the office, rooms are overcrowded, and proper disposition cannot be made of the files and records which are yearly accumulating. It has been found absolutely necessary to occupy a portion of the newly constructed model hall in the west wing both for the clerical force and for the accommodation of the files. There can be no relief from this condition of affairs until additional room shall be provided elsewhere for some of the other bureaus whose necessities for more room are quite as urgent as those of the Patent Office.

The question, how far the Secretary of the Interior has controlling or appellate power over the Commissioner of Patents has been from time to time presented to the department by parties in interest, invoking the supervisory powers of the Secretary in cases decided by or pending before the Commissioner.

Secretary Chandler, under date of March 9, 1876, decided that no power was vested in him to review the decisions "honestly" made by the Commissioner of Patents in cases within his jurisdiction.

While claiming the right to exercise supervisory power over the administrative action of the Commissioner in the direction of executive duties, he expressly disclaimed all appellate jurisdiction over his judicial actions.

In this opinion he says:

I am unable to learn that any appellate jurisdiction has ever been exercised or claimed by any Secretary of State or of the Interior Department over the judicial action of the Commissioner of Patents since the creation of the office by act of July 4, 1836.

My immediate predecessor, Secretary Schurz, under dates of September 13, 1877, April 29, 1878, and June 25, 1879, concurred substantially in this opinion.

In the opinion rendered September 13, 1877, my predecessor, while holding that he had no right to examine into the merits of an application for a patent or to review the judicial action had thereon, used the following language:

I think it is quite clear that the supervision and direction with which the Secretary of the Interior is charged means something more than an approval of the act of the Commissioner of Patents. The responsibility of seeing that the work is properly done by the Commissioner of Patents is with the Secretary of the Interior. This includes negative as well as affirmative acts.
The Commissioner of Patents is to "superintend or perform all duties respecting the granting and issuing of patents," but these duties are to be performed under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior.
If the Commissioner neglects or refuses to perform any duty required by law to be performed by him under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior or performs a ministerial or administrative duty improperly, I am of the opinion that the Secretary of the Interior, by virtue of his supervisory power, may direct him in its performance. To be charged with the responsibility of the supervision and direction of any kind of work or business by law, and not be able to require that it shall be in accordance with the law would be anomalous indeed.

Believing that the war, which exiled these people from Idaho, was the result of a failure of the government to keep its plighted faith, as a member of the United States Senate I opposed their removal against their will to the Indian Territory. I considered such removal a violation of the terms on which they had surrendered. They had been forced into war, and contending with an army far outnumbering them, had made a fight almost without a parallel in the anuals of history, extending over a district of more than 1,300 miles, and then, though entrenched in the rocks where they could not have been dislodged without great loss of life to the Army, as well as themselves, surrendered, as Joseph says, because he did not want any more lives sacrificed.

General Miles, the officer to whom the surrender w as made, says, in a communication addressed to the President in February, 1881, that he informed them that it was the design of the government to place them upon what is known as the small Nez Perces reservation in Idaho. and he believes a due regard for his word, the good faith of the government, and every other consideration require that his promise given the Nez Perces at that time be made good. He further speaks of the hardships suffered by the Nez Perces in consequence of their removal to the Indian Territory, and recommends that they be returned to Idaho.

I concur in these recommendations, and recommend that provisions be made to carry them out.

The Nez Perces have changed very much in manner of living and style of dress since going to the Indian Territory. Nearly or quite all of them have adopted citizens' clothing. They have an organized church—Presbyterian—of over one hundred and fifty members; have been industrious, and ready to respond to any requirements of the department. Their advancement in civilization has been such that it is not believed any trouble would follow their return to Idaho. Their faith in the ultimate fulfilling of the promise made them of being returned to that country has been a strong incentive to them in the advancement they have made. Some assistance by the government would be necessary in helping them to make a commencement after reaching there, when they would be self-supporting, as those of the tribe now there are.

CIVILIZATION FUND.

From July, 1877, to July, 1881, there was placed to the credit of this fund the sum of $715,000, derived from the sale of certain Indian lands in Kansas. Of this sum $500,000 was expended in the establishment and support of schools, and the remainder in the purchase of wagons, farming tools, stock, &c, with the exception of about $4,800 now on hand.

accommodation of visitors, or to grant an exclusive privilegeof building

hotels to an association of persons having control of sufficient capital to

enable them to provide first-class accommodations, was a question which

was presented to the department for determination. The conclusion

was reached that the public interest would be better subserved by grant-

ing exclusive privileges to a firm having the control of ample capital to

provide the necessary accommodations.

Accordingly, on the 1st of September last a contract was made by this

department with Mr. Carroll T. Hobart, of Fargo, Dak., and Mr. Henry

F. Douglass, of Fort Yates, Dak., granting to them the use of tracts of

land, upon which they agree to build hotels of such design and dimen-

sions, and at such points as may be approved by the department, to run

such lines of stages within the park as the travel may render necessary,

and to construct lines of telegraph from the principal points in the park

to connect with the through lines constructed near it. It is provided in

the contract that no greater charges shall be made for accommodations

furnished and services rendered than those set forth in a schedule to be

approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

Messrs. Hobart and Douglass are certified to this department as per-

sons in all respects able to fulfill their contract. It is hoped that by the

opening of the season of travel next year visitors will find comfortable

accommodations provided for them. It is believed that the appropria-

tions for the improvement of the park heretofore made have been judi-

ciously expended in the construction of roads, bridges, and other im-

provements.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H. M. TELLER,

Secretary.

The President.