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Show The physician employed as a special agent to vaccinate the Indians of the plains had nearly accomplished his mission before the hostilities broke out, and reported in April that he had vaccinated "all of the six tribes of Arkansas In-dians," except the Oamanches, who were then not accessible. \ DAKOTA SUPERINTENDENCY. I regret that I am unable to report any decided improvement in the condi-tion of aEairs in this superintendency. The stateof hostilities prevailinga year ago between a portion of the Sioux tribes and the government has continued during the present year, and sreat excitement has necessarily existed even among tlrose tribes who are friendly to the whites. The removal within the limits of the Dakota superintendency of the Sioux and Winnebogoes from Nin-nesota lias further complicated affairs, while the almost entire failure of the crops planted, not only by the last-named Indians, hut by those long estahlislled in the Territnry, has been very discouraging to them, and entailed much suffer-ing upon several tribes, and rendered it necessary to provide supplies to keep them from starvation. The tribes under the charge of this superintendency are the Poncas and Yancton Sioux, with whom treaty stip~ilations exist; the Sioux, Gros Ventres, Mandans, Ariekarees, Assinahoines, and Crows, with whom, as yet, we have no other than treaties of friendship. Besides, there are the Sioux of Minnesota and Winnebagoes, removed from Minnesota to Dqkota.two years since, hut who are still under the charge of the Northern superintendency. The Ponca Indians were at the date of my last annual report in a critical condition, owing to the failure of the crop of 1863; and it was necessnry, in November of that year, to make an expenditure of one tllousand dollars from the appropriation for "provisions for Indians" to supply their absolute neces-sities. The distribution of tbeir annuity money, in January, 1864, which, after the payment of sundry debts, left them about five dollars each, and fur-ther aid, to the amount of fourteen hundred dollars, carried the tribe through until spring, though not without great suffering, andit was only by the exercise of his utmost il~flue~lcoev er them, often at great personal risk; that Agent Hoff-man succeeded in preventing them from killing all o,f their stock for food. Undoubtedly the disturbed state of this tribe, arising from their physical wants, %,as rnucl~ inc~eased by the delay in obtaining justice for the outrage committed upon some of their people in December, by a party of United Sates' soldiers, the facts inregard to which have already been laid before you, and such action taken as lay in the power of this department. The details of this wanton outrage upon a peaceable and friendly tribe are given in Agent Hoff-man's report, herewith submitted. Every possible effort has been made by this office, through your department, to have the perpetrators hrou,rrht to trial and pnnishment, and as late as June 15 assurances were obtained from the War Department that General Curtis, commanding the department, had been in-structed " to bring the offending parties to trial before the proper military court without delay ;" since which time I have no information as to. the pro-grees of the investigation. I can only express tlie hope that the patience with which this friendly tribe has awaited reparation for a gross wrong will not be much longer tried, and that they may have evidence that their righta to life, at least, respected by the government which assumes to protect them, while they faithfully perform their treaty stipulations. When the spring of 1864 commenced, thePonoas, in a destitute condition, travelled one hundred and fifty miles to the Pawnee reservation to obtain corn for seed, and on their return labored faithfully in planting i t ; hut the drought of the last summer caused this:crop also to fail entirely. The report of the farmer at the agency, transmitted by Agent Hoffman, shows how faith- |