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Show r VI REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. Notwithstanding every effort has been made to expedite the shipments of supplies, it is probable that a portion of those for the more remote agencies will fail to reach their destination this fall. It is yery important that the appropriation for Indian slipplies shoul11 he made earlj- in the year, to enable the office to take advautage of the most fa]-orable season for pnrchase and transportation, and to perform this important service with due deliberation :uld care. THE POLICY TO BE PURSUED. In order to form any wise opinion as to the best method of dealing lier~aftewr ith our Indians, a clear conception of their actual condition, anrl of nr present relations wit11 them, is necessary. From he first settle~iienot f the country by vhite men until a corn-paratirely recent period, the Indians hare been constantly driven sest-ward from the Atlantic. A zigzag, ever-varying line, more or less deE-nitely marlred, exten~ling from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, all11 alwass slowly nloviugn7est,h as been lrnomu as the 'Lfr ontier" or l L bor-der." Along this border bas been an almost incessant struggle, the Jndia~lsto retain and the whites to get possessiori; the mar being broken bs neriods of occasional and temnora.rr iwace. which nsuallr followed treaties whereby the Indians agrekd to"skrrender large tracis of their lands. Tl~i sp eace voulcl continue until the lands surrenderell hail been occupied by mhites,when the pressure of cniigrstion monld again break over the border, and theIndian, by force or treaty, be compelled to sor-render another portion of his cherished hooting-grounds. So long as t,he illimitable West oEere11 to the Inclian fresh hunt,iug-pronnds, he r a s unwilling to exchange 11is mild freedom arid indolent existence for the restraints and toil of the rude ;u~dim perfect ciri1ie;i-lion to s l~i c hi t was possible fbrbini in only one 1ife.time to attain. If any tribe of Indians in this country had marle the effort to abmdo~i their samge mode of life and undertalre self-snpport hy labor, it is at least donbtfhl mhether for many p a r s the change wolild not have ren-dered them more miserable and wretched. Their laclt of inpans. of ~~ . ~ k n ~ ~ ~ v lx~ncdl ogf~ p~r~.~ viot~riatiin ing mo11111i. n rill pr11l1:11111irIIy:IY, V I I I ~ L I C surh an ;lttr!upt a rons~~i~:ucf~nuil.lrlr r. I t i~idi%i,InI;~I lI ~ ~1~1acIl SIII*I* . ceeded in acqniriug pripertj-, they moulil probably have heen fiwiudletl out of it by nnscrupi~lous white, men. The natural and the easiest course was to remore west and continue to hunt. Tosnrd the close of the first half of this centnry the tide of emigra-tion and a~lventnres wept oven the irontler array and i.nsl.erl across the continent. Tl~roughouth e vast regionseof the West the adrenturoos, grasping Anglo-Saxon race is domillant and ill possession of the fairest and richest portions of the land. Except in the Indian Territory and per-haps I)alrota, the white exceeds the Indian l,opiilation. No ne,w hnut-inggrounds rem:~iu, and the civilization or the litter clestruation of the Int l i a~~iss i nerita1,le. The next twentyfire gears are to cletermioe the fate of a mce. If the,v cannot be taught, and taught very soon, to accept tllc? necessities of their sitnation and begin in earnest to provide for t l~eior rrn mants by labor in civilized purscits, they are destined to speedy extinction. From the Saat that for so long a period Indian civilization bris been retarded, i t most not be concluded that some inherent cl~sracteristicin the race disqualifies it fr;r civilized life. It may well be doubted whether this be true of any race of men. Surely it cannot be true of a race, any portion of which has made the actual progress realized by some of our Indians. Thex can and do learn to labor ; they can aurl do learn t,o |