OCR Text |
Show COMMISSIONER OF INDIM AFFAIRS. 2 1 mained 61m in their loyalty and alle'ance to the fderal government and to their treaty stipnlations, and shall mete out the punishment their treason de-a m s to those who,unmindful of either,have taken &nus against our authority. The reports of the superintendent, the agents, and einployh of this superin-tendency, to be found among the accompanying papers, possess an unusnal de-gree of interest. A careful perusal of these reports, and those made during the existence of the present rebellion, will, I think, demonstrate that no portion of onr people have suffered greater calamities, have met with more overwhelming disasters, or have more heroically battled for the common interests of the conn-try, than have the loyal Indians within its limits. Possessing one of the mopt beautiful, fertile, and desirable portions of our country, and almost completely removed from the baneful effects so often attendant npon elose proximity to white settlements, many of them were, prior to the rebellion, in the quiet en- - joyment of most of the comforts and conveniences of civilized life. The vari- / om tribes were at peace with each other, and the whole people were presenting ' nnmistakahle evidences of. improvement, thrift, and prosperity. During the vi-cissitudes of the war they have been viaited by its direst calamities. They have been robbed, plundered, and murdered, their homes burned, their fields : laid waste, their property seized and destroyed. They have been compelled to flee from their country, and from a condition of plenty and independence they have been reduced to the most abject poverty, suffering, and distress. Nor, as befure intimated, have they tamely snhmitted to these calamities. From the outset the7 have battled, and are still battling, in defence of their homes, and ': for a restoration of the authority of our government, with a conrage and zeal that entitles them not only to our sympathy, but to the most generous consid- ;' eration in the readjustment of our relations with them, which have been so wan- \ tonly disturbed, and which must be had when the present rebellion is subdued, and the blessings of peace are once more restored. i. As you are aware, the most of the refugees from the " Indian connt~y" are now located in Kansas and the country immediately south! where the old men, women, and children-all, or nearly so, of the able-bodied males being in the federal armiesare being subsisted from the funds held in trust for several of the sonthern tribes hy the government. The formidable front elsewhere pre-sented by the rebellion has hitherto prevented the organization of a military force sufficient to drive the rebels from the Indian country and return the In-dians to their homes. It is to he hoped, now that the Mississippi has been; opened, and the power of the rebels in the west and southwest seems irretrieva bly broken and hastening to its final overthrow, that a military expedition, ade-- qnate to " take, hold, and possess" the country, may he speedily sent thither,. and the loyal Indians reinstated in the'enjopment of their possessions. . The vmious tribes 'of the superintendency are the Osages, the Qnapaws,. Senecas and Shawnees, the Cherokees, Creeks, Seminules, Choctaws, Chicka-~ saws, and the Witchitas, and other affiliated hands. The Osages, Qnapaws, Senecas, and Shawnees are under the care of Agent Elder. The Osages, with the exception of Black Dog's hand, have remained. |