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Show 74 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. , . Oatholic Indian Missions; on the Blackfeet Reservation, Mont., not ' exceeding 160 acres, to the Brooklyr~ Women's Indian Assoetation ; on the Siletz Reservation, Oregon, not exceeding 10. acres, to the Metho-dist Episcopal Church; on the White Edrth Reservation, Minn., not J exceeding 160 acres, to the Swedish Christian Mission Society; on the Devils Lake Reservation, N. Dak., not exceeding 7 acres, to the Epis-copal Church; and on the Oneida Reservation, Wis., not exceeding 5 rtcres, to the Catholic Church. In each of the above cases the amount of laud assigned i s exactly the amount asked for by the society desiring to occupy it. It is cns-tomary to allow also to such societies the use for building purposes of stone or timber fouud on the respective reservations. SALE OF LIQUOR TO INDIAXS. I asked your attention last year to the deficiencies in legislittion de-signed for the protection of the Indians against the evil effects of in-temperance, and to action taken with a view to inducing cdngress to ' so amend the laws as to meet the necessities of the case. The law provides (seo. 2139, Rev. Stat.) that No ardent spirits shall be introduced, under any pretense, into the Indian aanntry. Every pemon (exoept an Indian in the Indian country! wllosells, exohilnges, gives, barters, or disposes of any spirituous liquors or ~ i o teo any Indiao unfier the oharge of any Indian superintendent or agent, or jntroduoes or attempts to introduoe any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian oountry, shsll be puniahed by imprisonment for noc more than 2 yeam and by a. fine of not more than $300. In view of the changed status of parts of the I~tdian Territory, especial difficulty has been experienced by the agents in that Territory and in the recently organized Territory of Oklahoma in preventingthe introduction of intoxicants in the shape of beer, ale, and other malt liquors. The Wells-Fargo Express Company, under advice from its attorney, instructed its agents, September 18, 1889, that malt liquors are not iucluded iu the prohibition of the law against the introduction of ardent, spirits or spirituous liqnors and wine into the Indian country, and that thereafter packages of such liquors wonld be accepted for shipment to points in the Indian Territory. This definition of the terms used in the statute was not accepted by this office, and the agent inclitded such liquors in thelist of articles to he destroyed. SO far a8 this office is advised the company did not contest the agent's rights in the premises, but accepted the situation. It now appears from a report of August 13, 1891, thac the United States court for the eastern district of of Texas, Jndge Bryant, has recently decided that malt liquors can be introduced into the Indian country and sold to Indians without violating the law ; in consequence of rhis opinion many saloons were opened and large quantities of beer were shipped into the Indian Territory, especially ioto the Chicka- |
