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Show 22 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN bFFAIR8. gado's report, the most of them are quietly, nnder military supemidon, working the land, cultivating 3,500 acres this year, raising good crops and having some supply of stock of their own, and on the whole are doing well; and inasm~icha s their removal from the former scenes of their predatory warfare has resulted in giving quiet and security to a considerable portion of the Territorv".. it has been dermcd.btst to accrpt, 6 r the pwarnt at all ;vt nts, the location at the lk,aque as a settled fact, an11 an agent has been appuinted, with special i~~ntructiontdo take cl~arpeo l' the expeuditurer of t1.e drnartment on their h~hali.w ltilr a snrrial agent has been ebarged with the duti of pnrchasing and conveying to &ere-srrvatiou a large quantity of useful implements and articles, having reference to their becoming self-anstaining at the earliest possible day. These articles are now on their u,ay across the plains in a train of wagons, which, with the stock drawing them, will be needed upon the reservation. With a fair season for wops next year it is expected that the Nava"ios,. b"v t heir arricultural labor.. will ~ relikve the governmeut'of the cost of subsistence after negt year; and if they can he supplied with sufficient stock, will manufacture a good share of their own - - clothing. - The special agent, hfr. J. K. Graves, is instrocted to inform himself fully, and report at the earlieat possible day, in regard to the facts necessary to a con-clnsion as to retaining the Navajos at the Bosque permanently, and as to the cost of providiug for them there, with allotments of land, &c.; and he is also to make examination and report as to the condition of affairs at each of the other agencies, in regard to which this office is lamentably deficient in information, knowing neither what has been done, nor what ought to be done, in hehalf of the Indians. Almost immediately after the last adjournment of Congress, a change was made in the superintendent, and four new agents appointed, three of whom can neither read nor write the English language, and not assigned to any paiti-cular agencie~. I t is a fact, that, with the exception of Agent Archnleta, who is roentioned by Superintendent Delgado as having charge of the agency of Abiquiu, for the Capote Utahs, &c., and Agent Labadi, in charge of the agency on the Cimar-ron river, this office has no knowledge, aud has been unable to obtain any, as to the location of the several agents sil~ce last spring. I t ia confidently expected that from the report of Ppecial Agent Graves some definite informittinu will he qbtaint,d. I trust that I shall not exceed my proper province in this report when I suggest that hereafter, whenever the subject of a change of persons charged with the managemrnt of. Indian matters is proposed, your department, at least,may be consulted as to the propriety or necessity of any change, or at all events, as to the existence of vacancies, and their location and circumstances. I feel confident that if this course had been always taken, and the information easily furnished had been laid before the appointing power, some of the changes of the last year would not have been made; or if it was deemed advisable to make them, this office would have been furnished with more acetirate inforn~ation in regard to the changes intended, and thus with more certain meansof conducting the public business intrusted to it. It appears, from the information which my brief tenure of this office has enabled me to obtain, that it has always been di&- cult to obtain the services, as Indian agcnts, of persons who are willing to accept , the very moderate salaries paid by the goverumeot as their remuneration, and to he content with acting as the conscientious guardians of the Indians, as well as the economical agents of the gov>rnment expenditures in their behalf, with-out supplementing their salaries by conniving with traders, contractors, or other parties; and when such agents are found, I can but feel that any change must he for the worse. I trust that buch agents may he supplied, if it is possible, where we do not have them now; and ehould be pleased, and am sure that the interests of the government would be subserved, if such as we now have could be retained. |