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Show REPORT OF THE CO?AfISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 545 Brevet Colonel J. E. Tourtellott, late snperintendent of 1dian affairs in %his Territory, left. This I remrded as a misfortune. inaimnch an I expected to, get much valuable &formation from him in kegard to 1ndG &airs in the Territov, a.nd particu1al.I.y in regard to this agcncy, and also to receive some books and apers from which I might post myself relative to my position and dutfes. immediately set ,about trying to find out the locality of the ageucy, the best mode and route by whioh to reach it, and also the whereahonts of the agent,, Lieutenant George W. Gra,ffam. After much conflicting infor~nationo n all the points on which . I desired it, I learued that the late agent resided at Fort Bridger, Wy-oming Territory. I telegraphed him, and learned that he had gone to the agency preparatory to turning it over to me. Learning t.liat the road to the agency from Salt Lake City was impracticable at that sea-son of the year, on account of snow on the mountains, I went to Fort Bridger, and fiuding that Lientenant Gratfen expected to retnru soos, and fearing I should miss him on the roacl, I determined to await his return, which occurred abont a week nftcr mF arrival. He was, how-ever, unprepared to turn over his books a11d papers, and I mas com-pelled to wait several weeks upon him, aud. in the mean time, reported to the Department. After hearing from it, I visited Salt Lake City, to make sqme necessav arrangements and procure needed supplies, pre-paratory to cisiting the agency. After retnrning to Fort Bridger, I left, on the S t 4 of January, for the agency, variously estimated to be. from one hundred to one hundred aud fifty miles distant. After a. . . severe and tedious journey of n e a r l~si x days, I arrived here on the morning of Febrnar~3 . My first impressionsof the agencF were anything bnt favorable, md. I am free to state that, had I had an adequate conception of its position and condition, I should not have accepted it; bot, having accepted and. being here, I immediately commenced a surrey, in order to ascertain, if possible, what was best to be done. I found the employes--some of.' them utterly depraved and worthless--and Indians co~npletelyd isconr-aged, havil~galmostc ome to the eonelusion that the sgenqc was abont to be abandoned, the latter roaming about discont'ented<tr nd hungry, having access to every place except the commissary, in which there was little, except flonr, worth keeping from them. A11 were on short rations of everything except flour and potatoes, and with a very remote.pros pect of a new supply. I found comparatively few Indians here, most of, them being out on honting expeditions, to procure something on which to subsist. The chief, Tabby-To-kwana, and several influential Indians,, mere. present, with whom I held a council, at which I laid before them,. .using one of the Indians and an ernplo~ea s interpreters, the benevolent. plans and purposes of the Governluent relative to their care and sup-. port, telling them that LLWashington"d esigned to treat them kindly. and liberally, but that he could not. always get good men to carry out: his plans; that I desired to do as the Great Father told me; that I did. not want to promise them much, as the.^ knew promises werenot always. kept; that they must wait and see wl~ether I was a good monch" or,. not. They seemed to be well pleased and disposed to .give me a fair t,rinl. CONDITION OF TEE AGENCY. This agency seems to have been retrograding for thelast year or two, hut never in as favorable a condition as one would be led to believe from the reports, and especially that of 1869. From that report it ap-pears that there were 110 awes under cultivation, producing 1,750 bush- 3 5 C I A |
