OCR Text |
Show 36 ItEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIBS. hunt, on account of the incnrsions of the hostile Sioux, and much sufferine among them is apprehended. Their mission school, which is supported by payment of seventy-five dollars from their annnities for the support and eduea-tioh of each schol&. has been verv successful. and has had ai iveraz-e attend-- anre of nil? Irundred aud cighty.arrr.u pupils. Th,; roi.dirion of the Pawnees, owing to the same causes whicl~ have heen mentid~teda s s f f~c t-in mr ost a t the otbcr trihea of t l h a~i~erinrendeucvfa.i lure of crops rind hoztllitv of other Indian~,is reprenented by Agrnt Luilhbaugh as hnrderlng upon dertito~iun; hut thia once-powen'ul trite, atill nutnbrring over three tbuumnd souls. ha8 remained cntirrl.v l oval. and furuiahrd a iorct, of rirhtv d u . warriors to join General Curtis's expedition during the summer, offer~ngt wo or three hundred if he would accept their services against the Sioux. Their sehool has been snceessful, and the children are making good progress. The various white employba of this agency are entitled to great credit for standing their eround at the time of the late incnrsious of the Sioux, and their resolute rnnd;rt iluuhrlesa prc~erved from drsrructiox~ the large amount of govenlment proptrty at the ngeury. The appeal made by the ;$pent for aid iu s~ll,sisti~~g thecu Irndinus tl~rou^altt he winter is comrwnded to favomlle eonsiderat~uxn~s, their annuity money, upon which alone they are left to depend, is not sn5cient to supply them with the necessaries of life. The Kansas Indians, under charge of Agent Famaworth, numbering seven hundred and one persons-a decrease of forty since last report-have had ill fortune with their crops, hut from a different reason than that which applies to most of the other- tribes. After planting, they went on their summer hunt, leaving no one to take care of their fields, the consequence of which ia that no crop has been raised. Their schools have been rcasonahly successful, though the parents take little or no interest in the education of the children. The de-crease in novulatiou is ascribed to nrevailinr diseases, not enidemic. but those of ordio.r;y'rbnracrer proviug gcndrally fatz. Agent Furnax, who assuu~edc hnrgrd of tlne Omahas on the 1st of April, fur. nishe n a:tti..J:trtor~' reDort of tlleir ruoditiun. thr tribe beinz well arlvanced in civilization, and in"indistria1 pursuits, iober, peaceable, and gyal. Numbering about nine hundred and seventy souls, they have over one hundred men in the service of the United States, whoare commended hv their o5eers as heinz sober. rrliaWr, atd clticirnr soldirra. Undrr mnny rmba;rawnenis, uwittp to the waut of tool, nnd tltr high pr1ce3 of inbor,abo~~ont e tlmusand acrcsof land wcre rulti-vated, andone thousaidmore enclored forpastu~e ,bnt none of the cropssucceeded except the corn and sorghum. Of the former therz is a surplus beyond the necessities of the tribe, and the latter was expocted to yield two hundred gal-lons to the acre, and furnish them a suficieut aupply. Their summer hunt was unsuccessful, being interrupted by the Sioux. The mills have beenin constant operatiou, and a strong and capacious log 'block-house has been built at the agency for purposes of defence. The schools have had an average attend-ance of forty-six, and the missionary in charge has found attentive audiences at his Sabbath services. Agent Fumaa proposes to aim at the permanent benefit of this people by inducing them to abandon their summer hunt, and engage in raising cattle to snpply themselves with meat, and already many are turning their attention in that direction. The system of allotting lands iu severalty is rec-ommended for the Omahas, who seem to he fully prepared for it. Early in this year the Winnebagoes, who had been removed from Minnesota, came down to this agency in great destitution, as stated under the head of the Northern superintendency, and were, on a representation of the facts, subsisted by Agent Furnas. He states that the Winnehagoes planted and raiaed a fair crop fiom one hundred acres of land, with the coubent of the Omahas, who seemed inclined to consent to the permanent occupation by the Winnebagoes of a part of their reservation, should such an arrangement be deemed desirable. |