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Show I HEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 39 a vation provided for them north.of the San Juan River. They con. stautly encroach upon the fields and possessions of the settlers, kill their cattle, and are insolent and overbearing. He recommends that the attention of Congress be called to the necessity for rahification of the agreement with the Indians to put them on the Jicarilla reserve, and immediate measures be taken to discontinue the agency at Cirn-arron. Mescalero Apache Reservation. Respecting the outrage upon and subsequent massacre of some of the Indians upon this reservation, Mr. McNulta has evidently made a thorongl~ investigation, and comes to the conclusion that the Indians are in no degree at fault in this affair. The attack was commenced and continued by the citizens within the hearing and reach of the military, who rendered no relief, excusing themselves upon the supposition that the Indians were fighting among themselves. The Indians seeing no effort was made to afford them any protection or relief, fled to the mountains as their only safety, after in-forming the agent and the military of their intention. Here hey were attacked by the military,,when they left again for remoter parts, abandoning their camps, clotlung, and provlsioos, whlch were taken by the military and destroyed, and fifty-fire horses were captured and sold; and three mules, taken at the same time from the Indians, are now in the possession at the quartermaster. The Indians have since been induced to return to the reservation, where they have remained with a greater feeling of security. The charge that "the Indian Department throwsobstacles in the way of the military," &c., is fully prerseuted, but he finds no evidence to sus-tain it; and the commanding officer, when called upon for testimony in support of the charges made, gave none, ?nd would indicate no source from whence it could be derived, hut gave it as his ri opinion" that such was the fact. Respecting the alleged mismanagement of agency affairs, Mr. McNulta entirely exonerates the agent, and states that heseems to havedevoted nearly all of his time to the outside control of the Indians, and to hare been eminently successful in teaching them to work; but concerning the internal business mananement of the aaencv he is less favorably im-pressed, arrtl r~eou~mcn;clnhn r1ge3 \vl~icla'tnvib een directed. JIr. JleSulfa reco~~iu~ui~11d cehda uge of rho \\.esterrl bo~~ud:iroyf the reserve. wl i i v l ~h as sirlee bee11 ir~eorl,ol.:~rieldl a 11 exe~utiveu rder delir~ing the bo6ndaries of the Fort Stanton Indian reservation. Seqniaole Reservation. Ou the 17th of March last, the hon. Secretary of the Interior deuig-nated Hon. J. P. O. Shanks a special commissioner to visit the Indian Tarritnrv and n-n.no-~ti-at e .w-i~th . th~ecre~ek In~dian s for the relinoniahment to the United States of such portion of their country as may-be occupied bv the Seminoles. in accordance with the provisions of the act of Con-giess entitled " ~ anct to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate," &c., approved March 3,1873. (Stat. at L., vol. 17, p. 626.) Full iustructions were issued on the 2% of March last, with a detailed history of the action of the Government, and the present status of the Seminole ~eserrationa, nd other information as to the plan of settlement of this vexed question, which this Ofice has deemed tbasible. Mr. Shanks has made no report as yet on this subject. |