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Show 44 REPORT OF THE COIlMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. / . ThePawnees went npon their usual hunt m the winter, returning with a large snpply of meat and robes, by the use and sate of which they were made quite comfortable. In the spring, they, nnder the charge of their agent, planted a considerable breadth of land, and the crops being well attended to and the season favorable, the yield has been large. Constant complaint is made of the steam mill upon this reservation. The wood required for keeping it in operation must be hauled from a considerable distance, and this labor, together with tho cutding of the wood,is very reluctantly performed by the Indians, while the regular force provided by treaty can be employed to better advantage. I t bas been heretofore recommelided that.a new mill be built, to run by water, npon a location easily accessible, and thus the services of an engineer he dispensed with; but itnder existing restrictions, by ilct of Congress, against the diversion of funds provided in treaties for any other use than that specifically set forth, this cannot he done. The Indians would gladly consent to the change. The schoolmentioned last year as established,afterlongdelay,in thenew and extensive building erected at the expense of the tribe, has continued in charge of the teacher then employed ; hut, deeming it desi~zblo that a more effective and permanent interest should be established in this school, arrangements are nearly perfected for placing it under the charge of the Methodist Mission hoard, and hopes are entertained that this friendly tribe will profit largely by the arrangement. The school-house has ample accommodations, it ia understood, for one hundred scholars; and a manna1 labor school, faithfully conducted, will do much to elevate the Pawnees, by teaching tlleir children the arts of self-sustaining labor, as contemplated in the management of such institutions. In the month of August there appeared in this city nine paw nee^, consisting of seven men, one woman, and n little child, inchargeof two individuals, one of whom had the assoranee to pretend that these people had come, with him as interpreter, to obtain pay due to their tribe for services as scouts upon the fron-tier. Upon an investigation into the matter, it was found that the whole story was a fabrication of this mad, who had started with the Indians on an exhibition tour tl~ronght he country ; finding which speculation unpnriitahle, he intended to leave them upon the hands of the government, which in fact he did, leaving the city before he could he arrested. His arrest would probably have availed but little, as there is no law prohibiting snch conduct. Such an enactment is necessary, and I trust will be provided. One other such case has occurred during the year. These Pawnees were provided by .the War Department with rations and quarters for a short time, during which they gratified tho dowager Queen of the Sandwich.islands, by appearing before her in their native costume, and were then returned to their homes in Nebraska. I regret to add that, in view of the fact that their agent, Mr. Wheeler, was found to have given written permission to the man who had these Indialis in charge to take them from the reserve and exhibit them through the country, it was deemed proper tu recom-mend hia dismissal from office. Santee Sioux.-Very important action having been taken by this office since the last annual report relative to the several bauds of Santee Sioux, nnd their location having been changed to the Territory of Nebraska, I have deemed it expedient, in order to present a connected and intelligible nanxtive of events, ; to make all necessary reference to the sttbject under the head of the northern I snperinteudency, although the Indians in question have heretofore lived in ~ Dakota and hlinnesota. I At the period of the last report the condition of the varions portions of the ! Santee Sioux, known in our treaties as the Sisseton, Wahpaton, Mendawakan- : ton, and Wahpakoota bands, was about as follovm: Nearly or quite 1,000 were at the Crow Creek reservation, near Fort Randall, far up the Missouri river. Theae were mostly old men, women, and children, |