OCR Text |
Show apprehended troubles. At many of our frontie1,posts there are sutlers who covet the trade with the Indians as being of a profitable character,and their prices, in cases of sales to Indians, not being limited by the scale fixed by the army boards. Sometimes these. posts are orig:~ally established by government; and in other cases, the military officers have take11 possession of portions of build-ings erected by traders. The sutlers claim the exclusive right to trade within a certain distance of the flag, and this limit generally includes the protection of the post. Regularly licensed traders have, in some instances, been warned t . ~ leave after having, in good faith, made large investments in their business. Long exieting regulations of the War Department, which have not been, to my knowledge, revokt:d, require that sntle~sm ust obtain licensee to trade with In-dians ; but it will be observed, that if the trade i~ thrown into their hands com-petition is impossible. I t is to Lie hoped that this subject will again be taken up hy Congress, and a special act, covering the necessary provisions to secure justice to all parties, be passed. Another point in counexion with licenses, which would he easily settled if there were some practicable method of regulating prices of barter and sale by traders, is that which presses upon this office in the case of some tribes-the advantage to be gained for their true interest by paying their annuities in goods by their consent. If fair dealiug could be relied upon, so that the Indian could do as well in his purchases of the trader by at1 order payable at his next regular payment as he could with the money in hand, there are manifest advantages in the paympnt in goods; for the Indian is improvident, and wit,h the cash in hand at payment, he, in most cases, wastes it wantonly in gambliog, drunkenness, or in some uselees expenditure, doing no good to himself or family; while, with a faithful agent to watch his interests, he is sure to obtain something valuable for his comfort and that of his wife and children, purchased from time to time, as e needed. This system, which has prevailed to some extent in the Indian service for a few years past, of giving the Indians orders upon the traders to the extent of their annuities, and payable at the next regular payment, has received some cousiderat,ion durine the uast vear. and, on the whole. it was deemed advisable to direct its discont&uauce. ft is not to be denied that, in some cases, the In-dians may have profited by it, but until some better safeguards acainst collusion and impisition i r e provided than now exist, i t was no~deemeduproperto con-tinue it. The fund, provided some years since, to he used when necessary for rescuing and providing for captives taken from their homes or from emigrant companies by Indians, is exhausted, and there are just demands upon it which cannot be met. Under arrangements made with the Kiowas and Uomanehes in 1865, quite a number of captives taken from Texas by outlying bands of those tribes were sought out and brought in to the frontier, and some ten or twelve women and children of this character remained at the Kaw agency, in Kansas, from last winter until August, awaiting measures tc he taken to relurn them to their homes, a long and expensive joumey, which the department had not the means to provide for. Such cases occur every year, and humanity towards our race demands prompt action in their behalf, and reasonable rewards to those who r.e.a-c~o-~e -t hem. It was recommended last year that a moderate appropriation he asked for, to he used at the discretion of this office in procuring memorials of the various In-dian tribes. whether oortraits of leadioe men. imuiements of i n l s t r v or warfare. ~~~~~~ ~ ~ . ~. ppecintenr of apparel, &r. Tl.ir rrcommenilarion in rr=pectfully re*oewed lly it* iudicio~laU RP a volu~b.le e.>llzrrio~ot~ n l~roorialao f a race which is fast ttrdiu"c away may he secured at small expense. Some settled policy should be adopted in regard to depredationclaims against Indians in particular cmes. The law in force requires that where Indians are |