OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF *HE COMMI88IONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 45 These same new officers of the Senecas, with the exception of their president, have recently, in utter disregard of their official obligations, as well as of the tranquillity, welfare, and best interest of their people, attempted to subvert and overturn the constitution and republican form of government adopted by the Senecas some veara ~incea. nd to aeain foist uuou them their old harbarian and irresponsible mode of government gy chiefs. ' * ~ r omth e accompanying copy of a letter of the 15th of November instalrt to President Silverheels, of the Sen-nation, it will be seen that this attempt to break up and destroy a stable, eon-stitutional, and beneficial government, under which their p.e o.ple have lived h a p pily and prospered, has hien severely reprobated. - STATISTICS. The information contained in the statistical tables accompanying this report, in regard to the population, schools, wealth, andagricnltural products of the Iudians, is unsatisfactory, and hears an unfavorable comparison, in the aggre-gate, with that which some former years have exhibited. This act is to be acconnted for, not only by the general difficulty of obtaining exact statistice relative to the Indian tribes, and the remissness of some of the agents in pre-paring and forwarding their reports, hut by the hostilities pending in some superintendencies from which, in former years, gratifying statistics have been received, and especially by the condition of things in the southern superintend-ency, where, before tlle rebellion, the tribes located south of Arkansas were in a state of great prosperity, owned a large amount of property, an6 were far ad-vanced in education and civilization, hut who have been for the last two years exiles from their homes. Add to this the fact, that throughout a great portion of the country where the best agricultural results have hitherto been obtained, the crops have this year almost entirely failed through drought and the ravages of insects, and the meagre results indicated by our tahles are accou~itedfo r. There are at the present time thirteen anperintendencies and fifty-eight agencies and sub-agencies connectedwith the Indian service. These have the charge of about two hundred different tribes of Indians. The number of Indians actually reported in the tables of population this year is a little over one huodred thousand. The number of Indiana within the 1imits.of the United Stated is estimated at about 300,000. The whole nnmherof schools reported is forty-seven; the number of teachers is sixty-one, and the nnmherof scholars is fourteen hundred and fifty-eight. The tables show that there have heeu~cultivated by the Indians this year 18,989 acres; and by the government, for and in connexion with the Indians, 2,678 acres-producing 44,062 hushe.18 of wheat, 237,462 hushels of corn, 37,206 hushels of oats, 130,587 hushels of potatoes, 3,924 hushels of turnips, 5,400 hushels of barley and peas, 1,944 hushels of rye, 100 hushels of beets, 900 hushels of carrots, 2,500 hushels of apples, 1,600 hushels of beans; and 5,000 hushels of rice have been gathered from the rice swamps,, by the Chi pe was of the Mississippi. Thisis an aggrepte of 412,385 bushels of the pm&cta of the field--an average of nearly five hushels of vegetables and grain to each of 102,246 persons reportedin the returns of population in the tahles annexed. In addition to the products just named, there are given in the tabular forms, as made by the Indians the past season, 432,471 pounds of sugar, and 8,706 gnllons of sorghum sirup, The number of barrels of fish sold is 2,067. The value of furs sold is $87,587. The number of frame houses built is 594; of log houses. 1.803. Ths number of horses owned is 14.938 : the number of asses and milei 882. The number of neat cattle reportedis 7,449; of swine, 10,109; of sheep, 560. The drouabt has left hut a small amount of hay to be made, yet there Gave been cut aid put up this year on the aeverai Indian reseLves 3,062 tons. |