OCR Text |
Show No material change his occurred with the Pueblo Indians. Living for tbe most part qnietly in their villages, occupying and cultivating their lands upon the grants confirmed to them by the Spanish kings, they are a quiet, well-dis-posed people. The report of their agent, Mr. John Ward, abounds in interest-ing facts relative to them and the lands which they occupy. From the fact that they hold these lands by metes and bounds defined with reasonable accn-racy in the old grants, these Indians require to be treated with a different pol-icy from that which is applicable to most of the tribes with whom we have to deal; indeed, as the Pueblos are self-supporting, and ask no aid from govern-ment towards their subsistence, they only need that degree of care which an en- . lightened and christianized humanity demands of the government of the United States towards its wards. The villages of these quiet people contain no gold to tempt the white man, and the Indians will doubtless continue to occupytheir homes and cultivate their lands, and the opportunity to do them good should not be lost. Long ago they had sc@ls among them, and many of them could read and write in the Spanish language, which they speak; but for the eighteen years since New Mexico came into the possession of the United States there has been no school, and the people have greatly retrograded in this respect. In the year 1857 an appropriation of ten thousand dollars was made by Con-gress to furnish them with agricultural and other tools, hut the articles pur-chased do not seem, to any great extent, to have reached the Indiaus, and a moderate amount of money would be well expended in this direction. Snper-intendent Steck suggests that an appropriation he asked for of ten thousand dollars for the purpose of establishing schools for this people, and giving them blacksmith shops for the repair of their tools, kc. I recommend the sugges-tion to your favorable consideration, believing that this people are in the best condition to be benefited by such expenditure, and that by th~isp lacing them again on the highway towards the goal of civilization, they will gradually become merged in the general population. of the country, forget tbeir distinctive cus-toms and laws, and require no further special care from the gover.nment. They number about seven thousand souls, and occupy some nineteen villages in the central portion of the Territory. The Maqnahache band of Utahs, under the charge ofAgent Maxwell, have remained generally quiet during the past year. On account of their destitute condition, there being no means at the control of the department to assist them, they have been led to commit aome depredations ; hut it is hoped that they will before long consent to go to the Conejos reservation, provided for the Utah bands of Colorado, in the treaty made last year with the Tabequacbe band of the same tribe. They have been given to understand that they can,only receive their presents from government by joining the other hands of their tribe, above referred to. Withthe western bands ofutalls, however,adifferent state of things exiats,and they express the greatest n~~willingnetsos go upona reservation andcultivate the soil, although very friendly in their disposition towards the white people geucr-ally. HOWlo ng this good disposition islikely to continue, as the white popula-tion presses upon them, and the game, seeds, and fruitsupon which they depend for suhsistence gradually disappear, can only be determined by the event. If they shallsee that tl~oseb ands of their tribe who are provided for by treaty are comfortable upon reservations, they will probably be also induced to abandon their nomadic life. Meantime Superintendent Steek, in order to avoid the neces-sity of Indians from these bands passing through the wliite settlements to get to tbeir agency, has directed the removal of the agency to Terra Amarilla. The superintendent thinks that ultimately these bands will consent to settle down in the valley of San Juan, in the southwestern part of the Territory. The Apaches, of which there are two tribes, the Mescaleros and Jicarillas; show no decided marks of improvement over the state of things previously re- |