OCR Text |
Show The Territory over which my surveillance extends is bounded on the north by Snake river, east by the Sweet Water and North Platte rivers. south by Yampa and Bear mountains, and west by the valley of Salt lake. The Indians occupying this tract are known as the eastern band of the Sho-shonee tribe, under the acknowledged leadership of Wash-a-kee, an Indian chieftain who has never been known to have held hostile relations wit11 the whites, and who, when a portion of his tribe deserted him to join a band of ir~snrrectionists.r emained firm in 11is alle-pi aace. thou-gh bound to keep the peace by no treaty stipelationa. In my report of last year I estimated the number uf these Indians at fif-teen hundred souls. No enumeration could be made this year, but from the beat data I am able to obtain I should set. the population at eighteen hun-dred- men, women, and children. In additiou to the natural increase by births, there have been additions from neighboring tribes by old deserters coming hack, and those individuals who, attracted by Wash-a.kee's rising home, have cast their lot with him. This tribe is entirely nomadic: and there heinp no reservation or land which they can call their own, they spend ahouteigllt months of the year among the Wind River mountains and in the valleys of the Wind rirer, Big Horn aud Yellowstone. Here they subsist entirely by chase-buffalo, deer, elk, and the mountain sheep affording them their only food. They are toler-ably well provided with comfortable lodges, perhaps one hundred and fifty in all. They clothe themselves almost exclusivelj- with the skins of the deer, sheep, and buffalo, made into garments of a style peculiar1? b their own. The leggings and breech-cloth are not very soon to he replaced y the pantalo'ons worn by the whites. I observe a marked improveme~e~atc h year in their means of protection against the inclemency of the weather. This people have never turned their attention to agricultural pursuits, nor can it be ex-pected of them until they are placed upon a reservation where they can have the necessary protection. If they are not provided with such a borne, they are destined to remain outside of those influences which are calculated to civilize or christianize them, a.s has been done in many parts of our country to tribes not one whit more susceptible of b e ~ n gre ndered useful members of society. Wild Indians, like wild horses, must be coralled upon reservations.. There they can be brought to work. and soon will become a self-supporting pHple, earning their uwn living by their industry, instead of trying to pick up a hare suhsiatence by the chase, or stealing from neighboring tribes with wh-o m- thev lruld hostile relations. I trust this matter will enrage the se- - - rioua attention of the department. As I have said, this tribe live entirely by hunting wild animals, because their onlv source of revenue is derived from the sale of skins. The result of the yc:,r'a hunt might be stated a~q~l-osimntise:layt t!ig.l~t hundn:d bulTalo robes, live lt~~ndrekda w r skills, and four 1111ndrcdt: lk and i~t t~u~l tain shern ski1.8. 1'Lrsv ~ruduct so f tllcir only industry ;ire either l~arteredw ith othe; tribes for ponie's, or with white triders for small articles of merchan-di e-paint, heads, and trinkets. The Shoshonees are friendly with the Bannacks, their neighbors on the north. and with the Utes on the south. but are hostile toward the tribes on thek'eastern boundary, vie: Sioux, drapahoes, Cheyennes, and Crows, he-tween whom there is more or lesa stealing coutinnally going on. Wash-a-kee feels himself too weak to engage in any aggressive movements against either of these tribes, but says that if he should be attacked he would give them battle. When the tribe arrived at this agency, in June laat, some fifty of the braves hearing of General 4onnor1s expedition against the Sioux, pre-sented themselves armed and equipped, eager to join the troops in a cam-paign against their old foes. The lack of a suitable militaq organization moving from this point alone prevented the acceptance of their services. / |