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Show INDIAN AFFAIRS. 63 POLICE. not but what e no accommo- Tbis branch of the service at this agency may be called a failure; there is " ood material here for Indian police, but because they bay nations whatever at the agency. Could suitable quarters be provided, and a full v. tion be issued, which would insure their presence here at all times, discipline could he established and they would doubtless become efficient and be of great service to the agent. EDUCATION. Out of the 27 children sent to Albuquerque Indian school in May, 1883, 3 of that number have died from sickness. The remaining 24 are making satisfactory piogress. I am authorized to build a school- house here, with a view of establishing a day- school. This I consider a premature move, as I am certain it will be next to impossible to secure an attendance. My idea of educating an Indian is to learn him to work and earn his own living. By iloingthis he becomes located ; you will know where to nnd him You could take his childreu into a day- school then with some certainty of haying a regular atteudance. With the present condition of affairs I consider the establishment of a day- school will be a failure. DEPREDATIONS. Under this head there is a question whether these Indians are guilty or not. During the month of Julv there was an attack made on Indians by cattle- men about 20 mPles west of the reservation line, t h e cattle- men claiming the Indians to be Southern Utes and bavins a large number of their horses. The Utes deny the statement, and sav the thieves are renegade Indians, that belong to no agency, of which class of Indians about 400 live in Utah. However, it would not be surprising if some ot the renegades belonging to this agency ( of which there are always more or less in any tribe) were engaged in the trouble referred to. SUPPLIES. The supplies furnished last year were largely deficient for the number of Indians who received rations. I have 991 Indians on this reservation. About 800 receive rations every week; the remaining 200 frequent the agency seldom, except to receive cash annuities or clothing. Thisvisit is made about twice a year. For these 800 Indians duriu^ lastvear I was furnished 75,000 pounds of flour, 100,000 pounds of beef, 200 pounds of coffee," aud 3,500 pounds of sugar, and am expected to keep them on a reservation where no game to speak of exists. The fact is simply this : it is impossible to keep starving Indians on a reservation when they can go into the mountains but a few miles and get plenty of game to subsist on. They will cither do that or kill cattle, which graze on the reservation by the thousand, and the Indians receive no benefit for the same. The Indians say that before they sent their children to school and commenced farming they had plenty to eat. I consider the present action on the part of the Government a reward for depredations. Why? Because as soon as an Indian shows a disposition to become civilized the Government cuts off his ratious, and he must either steal or starve. LEASING LAND. Last October these Indians leased a portion of their reservation to Mr. Edward Wheeler, of Fort Lewis, Colo., for grazing purposes, subject to the action ot the Department, and were to receive $ 10,000 per year iu advance for the privilege This amount of money equally divided among the Indians, as it would have been had the lease been approved, would have gone far towards their support. The Department refused to recognize any agreement of this kind, and of course it went by default. At the same time there is, and has been since the establishment of this agency, cattle grazing on the reservation, for which the Indians receive no benefit. AGENCY BUILDINGS. This part of my report has been referred to so often and by so many different inspectors &. c I deem it hardly necessary to make mention of the situation. However, I will say that the buildings for the storage of supplies aud the accommodation of the agent and his employe's consist of two old log buildings, which are insufficient for accommodation and comfort of agent and employe's and unsafe for the protection of supplies. The dwelling- house is overrun with vermin. After repeated efforts I |
