OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF THE Besides these, there are many tribes and bands with whom treaties should be negotiated as early as practicable, and it is believed that the most of them may be associated with the Indians of existin-g reservations, with whom they are known to possess strong affinities. The rush of white persons, probably to the number of ten thousand, into the countrv of the Nez Percds. in search of gold. of which it is re~ortedth at val-uable "discoveries have bcen made, will r&ire on the part of our agents great vigilance and care in order that collisions of the two races may be prevented, and it will probably be necessary to negotiate an additional treaty with that tribe, in order to adapt the location of their reservation to the circumstances now surrounding them, and so widely differing from those in existence at the time their oresent treatv was neeotiated. Uu to the Dresent time no difficulties have occused 80 far as "Iam infGined. I n m i c ommekts upon the Washington snper-intendency, I have mainly relied for facts upon the regrt of the late supelin-tendent, chat of the prese.dt incumbent not hiving yet hen received. . Little change has taken place in the &airs of the Mackinac agency during the past year. The greatest evil with which the Indians have to contend is whiskey. Wherever they are situated so as to be clear of its pernicious in-fluence their improvement is manifest. Those who live on the borders of the great lakes divide their time between the old pursuits of fishing, hunting, and trapping, and those of the interior depend on the cultivation of their farms. Besides the ordinary farm products, they manufacture large quantities of maple sugar, of which they have a considerable surplus for mayket. Their schools are subject to the same influences which are common to Ind~ansc hools, of which the most discaura-p in-e is the a.ua th.v of the narents towards the mental impmve- A A ment of their children. . Agricultural production would be much stimulated amongst the Ottawas and Chippewas of this agency by a supply of farm implements and working cattle. Bnt little remains to them of the $75,000 granted in the treaty of 1855, and they ask an advance of $5,000 per annum, for objects of husbandry, from the $206.000 that will be due them in 1865, for which I deem it proper to ask an -agpropriatiou, as I have no doubt that a moderate annual advance would be of more real benefit to them than tbe payment to them of sb large a sum at one time. Their agent also proposes to divert to the purchase of cattle and farming tools the sum of $4,000, provided for in the treaty of 1855, with the Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan Creek, and Black River, wherewith to keep up a saw-mill. The mill he considers to be badly located and altogether an unproductive object. In this recornmeldation I fully concur. The Indians of this a ~ n c yar e desirous of obtaining certificates of title to the lands they hold, and others refuse to settle down on their allotments until the titles have been furnished them. Evil-disposed white men use the with-holding of these evidences of title to create uneasiness in the Indian mind, and, . in my judgment, justice imperatively demands that the rights of the Indians in this res.ue ct shall be recomized and secured at the earliest -p racticable moment. It is gratifying to know that the Mackinac Indians vie with the greatmajority of their red brethren in their warm sympathy with the cause of the government of the United States, and this good bili nnkbers of them are eager to manifest by enlisting in the military service of the country, should the governmeilt so desire. Without exception, they are loyal to the cause of the republic. By treaties made from time to time with varions Indian tribes, large tracts of land were ceded by those tribes to the United States, and a consideration there-for was provided; the amount of this consideration, in whole or ip part, it was stipulated should be invested for the benefit of the Indians either in stocks of the United States, in stocks of the individual States, or in other safe stocks, generally at an interest not below 5 per cent. In pursuance of these treaties, |