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Show XEPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER. 5 Indians in Wisconsin, it should be made to embrace also those in Michi-gan. and a different location assigned to the superintendent. The large and populous tnhe of Chippewas, the great body of whom are in3Iinnesota, still own an extensiw t:act of countr- east of the3lis-sissippi, of which, on account of its great rnincml \vc:ilth, it will become necessary to obtain possession at an c:trly cl:t>-. Thcir 1:1:1;ls west of the Mississippi are sufficiently ample fur 1 1 1\~\- l~oletr ibe, and t!lcir con-centration there would be an arrang-e ment advantag- eous both to them and the government. The country assigned to the Winne!~:!coes by the treaty of 1S4G, in the region of the headwaters of the Jli-<kippi, proved to be not alto-gether suitable. So great has been the dissatisfaction, that it has been. impossible to keep a majority of thcnl upon it. Under these circum-st:~ nce.a nd because of' their ~re.?sin:c~ ::dc t,:l.it:!nt i t d icitntions, and of ~ ~ promises given last year, a.rra;lgemciti \\-crt. ~nnde1,1 11. p;~sts ummer, tn assign then1 another and more snti:li~ctr,r\- liol~~e.T he nen- location fixed upon, which is further south t11:1r1 tl~r.ir present countr5-, is oh- 8 jected to, it is understood, on t?;c g;:::.~L.,. - ..>: ..L ri~0iw i0nu.L IICILIi uo uear the white settlements; and its close p~.vxi~l~toit yth e Rllssissippi river is believed to be prejudicial to tlir. i:,tt re:> of the Indians. The de-partment has not yet determined \v:lc:l~cr tlrcse objections are suffi-c~ entlyw ell founded to justif>- t1:e r.:jci.;iun~~o f this arrangement. The present situation of t h ~pt t ~r i i~t a~t . :r.l lc Sioux Indians, parties to the treaties of Julv 23d and -1u:l;;r :>, 15.51,. is. u-.e culiar, unfortunate, and to them must ;ltimately prmc i~xtrci~itIlnyj urious. By these trea-ties they reluctantly parted ~ i t ah \ -cr\- 1:ir;e extent of valuable coun-try, which it was of the greatest ilni,i,r::n~cet o the govenlmc.nt to ac-quire. An insignificant portion ,,! i! !:.-- its Tvesfrrn J)?I!!!,!:!I-J-~ not ( deemed necessary or desirable fir n 1%-!;it? population fix nl::ng- >-ears, if at all, was a,geed to be reservcd n:!.l :~ssignedto them for their Suture residence. The Senate amended tlrc rrc;~tic..;s, triking out this provision, allomi~lgt en cents per acre in lieu of rl~cre servations, and requiring the President, with the assent of the In<li:~ns,itfh ey agreed to the amend-ments, to assign them such tracts of ct,untr\- hcj-ond the limits of that ceded as might be satisfactory for tl~t,irf u:ure home. To the amend-ments was appended a proviso, "that the I'resident may, by the con-sent of the Indians, vary the conditions aforesaid, if deemed expe-dient." The Indians were induced to :l:_.ree to the amendments, 'Icon-fiding in the justice, liberality, and 11uni:mity of the Preeidcnt and the Congress of the United States, that such tracts of countrj- will be set apart for their future occupancy and l:o~nca s mill he to tl~c::n~x el~table and satisfactory." Thus, not only was the assent of the Indi;~nsm ade necessary to a country being assigned to them without the linlits of that ceded, !but, by the authority given to the President to v::rx the condi-tions of the amendments to the treaties, he was cmpu\wrccl, with the consent of the Indians, to place them upon the design:~;cd reservations, or upon any other portion of the ceded territory, ;(if deemed expe-dient." To avoid collisions and difficulties hetween the Indiiuls and the white population, which rapidly commenced pouring illto the ceded country, it became necessary that the former should \-:tcstc at least a large por- |
