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Show 112 REPORT OF THE BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS. accept it as their home. There are a few houses on the bank of the slough, but not more than a dozen Indians were there at the time of our visit. The Skaggits have never recog-nized this as their home. There is no white employe" in charge, and Joseph, the chief, complained that some whites were settled within the limits of the reservation. The lands are salt- marsh chiefly, over-flowed in high- tide, and very productive in grass, which is the attraction to the whites. The situation is one at which the Indians are peculiarly exposed to whisky and bad whites. As there is not a sufficient number to warrant the costly machinery of an agency, the success of which would, at any- rate, be doubtful, owing to the evil surroundings, I am inclined to agree with the recommendation of the superintendent that the reservation should be sold for the benefit of all interested in the treaty, and the Indians removed to Tulalip and Lummi, where they could be better cared for. Joseph, the chief, complained that certain white men had encroached upon the reservation, pretending to dispute the line. On being told that the reservation would be protected from trespassers, he said " his heart had been down for a long time," but now, when told that " the Great Father at Washington" would keep their lands for them, " his heart felt strong." The white settlers alluded to also came to ask if they could not be allowed to remain, and were told by General McKenney that they were trespassers and must remove. This reser-vation is a peninsula of Perry's Island, and it is important that the line cutting it off from the main part of the island should be defined. THE LUMMI RESERVATION, which was next visited, is situated at the mouth of the Lummi or Nook- sak River, on Bel-lingham Bay, its northern boundary being the Gulf of Georgia, and contains one township of land. It seems well suited to its purpose, and has, in addition to much productive tillable soil, a fair proportion of tide- flats suitable for grazing and meadow. It is the home of four tribes, the Lummis, Nook- saks, Sen- a- mish, and Squin- a- mish ; in number, according to the last census, 819. They have made commendable progress in civilization under the instruc-tion of Mr. C. C. Finkboner, farmer, the only white employe" upon the reservation, and who has been with them for a number of years. They dress as white men, and live in wooden houses, which are scattered over the reservation on their small farms. They have also a village, where they chiefly congregate in the winter. Some of them have been educated in the Tulalip school, in which they have an interest in common with the other Indians of the Point Elliott treaty. They have a neat and commodious church, built by themselves, in which, daily, a short morning and evening service is conducted by the chief, David Crocket. He received his instructions from Father Chirouse, who occasionally visits them. Some fifteen or twenty of the. young men came from the Bellingham Bay Coal Company works, where they are employed, to attend the council. I was informed, by the superintendent of the mines, that the Indians are his best laborers. The Lummi reservation Indians have a considerable stock of horses, cattle, and hogs, and raise a surplus of agricultural products, which they sell. In one year they received ,$ 3,500 for potatoes alone. Although, owing to the faithfulness of Mr. Finkboner, there has been but little trouble from trespassers on their reservation, it is important that the lines be definitely settled, and also the farms allotted by boundaries to those who cultivate them. The minutes of the council at Lummi will be found herewith. ( See Appendix A d, No. 3.) There is no school, physician or medicine, priest or minister, carpenter or blacksmith for these Indians nearer than Tulalip, which is seventy miles distant. Returning southwardly through Puget Sound to the mouth of Hood's Canal, and up the canal nearly to its south end, we reached the SKOKOMISH RESERVATION. This wag set apart by the treaty of Point- no- Point for two tribes, the S'Klallarns and Sko komish, 921 persons in all. The Skokomish generally make their, home on the reservation, the others are scattered at various points along Puget's Sound. A band headed by the " Duke of York" has lived at Port Towusend, but at the time of our visit they had been brought by the new agent to the reservation, where they promised to remain. The reservation is about 400 acres in extent, much of it excellent for cultivation, and part of it covered with good timber. It is'all subject to annual overflow, and that portion of it on which the agency buildings are located is covered with water during the high- tides of every winter. The Indians have some houses on the high land adjoining the reservation, in which they reside during the season of high waters. A sufficient quantity of this land should be attached to the reservation. As there are no white settlers, this needed change can be easily effected. The small portion of the tribes who are con-stant to the reservation raise considerable surplus product. As is the case near every res ervation on the sound, there is what western people call a " whisky mill" near this one, which is the cause of much vice and demoralization among the Indians. |