OCR Text |
Show 24 REPORT OF THE south of the Platte, east of the Rocky ~ountains, and' north of t,he Arkansas river." B- v" vour instructions of the 11th Aueust last. I was charred with d ~0~~~ ~~ the duty of carrying out the intentio; of ~ o l d ~ r e sins makiqg the appropriation; and on the 15th of that month, I left this city and. proceeded as expeditiously as practicable to Bent's Fort, on the Upper Arkansas, about six hundred miles from Kansas Cit , Missouri, at which point I had directed that thetwo tribes shoul i' meet me. I arrived there on the 8th September, and found only the Arr;tpahoes encamped. To.the absent Cheyennes runners had been dispatched, anll, a few days before I left, two principal chiefs and a few head men came to my camp and informed me that their bands could not reach me for twenty days. These Cheyenne chiefs and the chiefs of the 8 were convened by me and informed of the object of my via& tAor rathpea'm? r They readily assented to the propositions which I was authorized to make to them respecting the reduction of their present reservation, and the design of the government to concentrate them upon a smaller tract of fertile country where they were permanently to remain, and they agreed to consummate the arrangement as soon as their bauds returned fi.om the hunt in which they were engaged. I left the matter in charge of a special ,agent, not being able to remain longer at that point; and it is believed that articles of agree-ment, ~repared by me, to be executed by these Indians, will be con-cluded with them by said special'agent, or by~there oently appointed agent for these tribes. A detailed report of the proceedings with the Arrapahoes and Cheyennes, dated the 25th October last, is herewith, to which you are respectfully referred. It may be proper to remark, that notwithstanding the open hostility manifested by the Kiowas and Comanches, I uassed through the coun-try over which tbey roam, without molestatiin; nor did I see any of either tribe on my way; and I did not avail of the order of the War. Department upon commanding officers of military posts'for an escort, either going or returning across the plains. The act above quoted also contained a provision appropriating $10,000 "For the purchase and trsnsportation of provisions and pres-ents, and to meet expenses necessary in holding a oouncil with the Iled Lake andRed River Chippewas in the State of Minnesota, for the 'extinguishment of their title to lands in that State: Provided, That the goods purchased in 1858 for the Yanctounais band of Sioux, the reception of which was declhed by them, may be used in the negotia-tions with the said Chippewas of Red Lake and Red River." To carry into effect the object contemplated by Congress in making this appropriation, commissioners were appointed, with your approba-tion, and,in accordance with instructions from this office of the 28th July last, they proceeded to tbe. Red River of the North and held a oouncil with the Chippewas of Red Lakeand Red River, to whom they made the propositions as atlthorized by the department for a cession of their lands. , -- The commissioners failed to conclude articl& of agreement and con-. vention with these bands, by reason of the absence of the Indians &om Rainy lake and Lake of the Woods, and in consequence of the |