OCR Text |
Show a condition to know more, and thus be better enabled to do what should be necessary; hut great disappointment has been the result. Shortly after bis leturn to Idaho, the governor appeam to have become involved in quarrels, political or otherwise, to an extent which resulted in his leaving the territory last spring, having accomplished little, if anything, to the advautnge of the In-dian service; and, on the contrary, failing to account for the large amount of gov-ernment funds placed in his hands, causlng great embarrassment to the office. Measures have been taken to cause a proper accounting to he made; but mean-time, the long distance of the Territory from this city, and length of time occu-pied in communicating with Mr. Lyon's successor, has necessarily delayed the placing in his hands the funds for carrying out properly the duties pertaining to the Indians. In order to avoid this delay as much as possible, measures were taken to place a part of the funds appropriated for Idaho with the United States assistant treasurer at San Francisco, to be dram11 by Governor Rnllard, when the treasurer shall be advised of the execution of a propor bond: and advices having lately reached this office that such a bond is filed, the necessary qperations of the superintmdency can now go forward with some degree of regularity. Gov e r~~oBra llad bas been much embarrassed b y f inding no proper records o f the trar,sactions of his predecessor, but is prompt with his annual report, tq which, and to tl~erepoltos f Agent O'Neill and Special Agent Hough, reference 1s made for details. Under the impressions ohtainod from Govelnor Lyon, he was in-structed to make treaties with the Bannocks and Shoshonees in the southeastern, and with the Boise Shoshonees in the southweste~n part of the Territory, with a view of placing them upon reservations ; to endeavor to conclude a new treaty with the Nez I'ercis, the one pending in the Senate, in 1863, not having been acted upon;.and to set on foot negotiations with theCaur d'Alenes and kindred tribes in the far northern part of Idaho, near the British line. Some time during last spring a treaty was received here, which had been con-cluded by Governor Lynn with the Boise Shoshonees, providing, for placing them upon a certain reservation, and furnishing them with the usual aids for im-provement and civilization. Various reasons, referred to above, had caused a d~strusto f the governor's discretion or judgment, a n d n o action was taken upon that treaty; aud later information Snlly justifies the course taken. Governor Uallard's report discloses the fact that the Indians referred to are in no degree so far under the control of regularly constituted ehiefs that they can properly be treated with, though he favors placing them upon a reservation, a course which the Indians themselves desire, as they are driven from their lim-ited hunting grounds by t,he whites, and liable to he killed by white parties of volunteers, who are accustomed to go out upon Indian scalp-hunting expedi-tions, under the stimulua of rewards offered at public moetings of $25 to $100 per scalp; and at the same time these unfortunate beings are in deadly fear of the hostile Pi-Utes. The great di5eulty appears to be to find a suitable place for a reservation, embracing the necessary requisites of agricultural land, water, and timber. At our latest dates Special Agent Hoogh was engaged, thus far, with little success, in finding a suitable place for those Indians. Directions have been forwarded to the governor to advise this office immediately upon the discovery of such a location, so that it may he withdrawn from public entry and sale. The bands referred t o , numbering some six hundred, are miserably poor, and will require some assistance this winter, i n food and clothin-g, to keep them from su&ering. The h'ez PercEs, numbering by the last eensns 2,830, may well be called a long-suffeiing people. Since the conclusion of a treaty with them in 1863, b y which, upon their yielding all claim to a very large tract of land lying in Oregon and in the Territories of Washington and Idaho, a reservation of great extent was set apart for t b m , and ample arrangements provided for their im-provement, they have been crowded upon by the white settlers, acting with full |