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Show 8 REPORT OF THE BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS. ble to all. To attempt the enforcement of civil or statute law in a tribe of Indians when first brought into peaceful relations with the Govern-ment is not deemed expedient ; nor would it be practicable, for the reason that the savages are unable yet to distinguish between such enforcement, and acts of war. But when they have adopted civilized costume, and civilized modes of subsistence, we owe it to them, and to ourselves, to teach them the majesty of civilized law, and to extend to them its protection against the lawless among themselves. Some amendment of the laws which prohibit the sslling of spirituous liquors to the Indians is needed, to remedy the present, difficulties which pre-vent the conviction of persons guilty of the crime. These subjects are more fully treated on in the report of the chairman of the board on Oregon and Washington Territory, to which you are respectfully re-ferred. ( Appendix A d.) Many of the partially civilized Indians are ready for the allotment of their lands in severalty, and this should be done as rapidly as possible under some regulation which would prevent the alienation of such lands for a term of years. In many cases the outlines of the reservations are not defined by actual survey, and the uncertainty as to their exact limits has given color for the encroachment of whites. The lines should be distinctly established, and summary measures should be taken for the ejectment of intruders. OBJECTIONS TO FREQUENT REMOVAL OF INDIANS. The frequent removal of Indians has led to a general distrust of the designs of the Government with regard to them, and the fear of such removal has deprived them of all incentive to improve their lands, or to labor more than is necessary for a merely comfortable subsistence. The members of the board, as opportunity has offered, have endeavored to quiet their distrust and induce them to labor on the lands with the belief that they should be protected in their rights. The recommendation of the peace commission of 1868, a that the so-called Indian Territory should be strictly preserved for the future set-tlement of the nomadic tribes east of the Kocky Mountains, and such other Indians as may be induced to migrate to the proposed Indian com-monwealth," commends itself to our judgment, and it is earnestly hoped that the territory will be preserved intact for that purpose. The records of military expeditions, and the personal examinations of the board west of the 96th parallel, show that a large proportion of the territory is unfit for cultivation, aitd it is believed that the remainder will not prove to be too much for the purpose indicated. The removal of partially civilized tribes already making fair progress and attached to their homes on existing reservations, is earnestly dep-recated. Where such reservations are thought to be unreasonably large, their owners, as in the case of the Ottoes and Missourias, and the Omahas, will themselves soon see the propriety of selling off the sur-plus for educational purposes. The Government meanwhile owes them the protection of their rights to which it is solemnly pledged by treaty, and which it cannot fail to give without dishonor. INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED CLAIMS IN CALIFORNIA. Commissioners Brunot and Farwell were requested by the Secretary of the Interior, during their visit to the Pacific States, to investigate cer-tain claims of old date which had been presented to the Indian Depart-ment for payment, amounting to $ 373,133 02. |
