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Show I HEPORT OF THE COMMISSIOX'ER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 5 tribes, and the occtipatiou of the intervening country by advanci~ig , settle~ueuts. such an event as a ceneral Indian war can never oceur in I ~~ ~- ~~ ~~~ t l ~ e~ t ~ i l e tSlt'a res. This ol,inio; liutls stroll:. confirmatiot~i u rhe fact r l~ath e higl~lyd isturbed tixeliug u111on,ot he Sivi~dsu ring tho past si1111. 1nt.r 11:1s ilot I t 4 ro a11 artelnpt at war, a ~ i 1th at military pods ]lave been succesuinll~c srablisl~eda t Red C'lou~l and Sported Tail agr~~e i tins ,f ;we 01 the viol r~~dte clt~mtiono f t l~cT 81din11st hat uo strldi~~shr t~ulde ver cross the North Platte. The feeding process, which has been now con-tinued for six Sears with the Sioux, has so far t,aken the fight out of them that it wasilnnossible for a vortlon of the more warlike non-treatv hii~ldst o prrrsil 1 1 ~ 6 tnll eir i,rctl~;en, who have been sittir~gdorn;~st tt ilt! agencies a l ~ ~ nt gh ~~li ssonrRi irer, tu risk the loss of their coflue, sugar., and beef ia exuh;n~eef or the hardshinsand nerils of a camnaicn aeainst As a result, the Onster ixl)editcon penetratecf to t h r very heart of their wild country and returned without meeting opposition, and the ini1itar.y camps at Red Cloud and Spotted Tail a,gencies are in wafety, thong11 surrou~~debdy a forceof fighting me^^ from ten to twenty times larger than their own number. To have tamed this great and war. like nation down to this degree of submissio~i by the issue of rations is in itself a denlonstration of what has been often urged-that it is cheaper to feed thau to fight wild Indians. The first requisite in the management of all the Indians in this class is firmness. A11 outragesor depredations should be followed upprompt,lg, and punished at all hazards and at any cost. Any leuieney which comes in to prevent such exercise of firmness is an expensive and mistaken kindness, which is sure to end in great suffering caused by the necessity for greater severity. The necessity for making the present mar opou the Comanches and Obejenues in t.be Indian Territory has resulted largely fro~d a failure to observe this role. The military force now stationed around and auiong t,hese wild Inflians is deemed nufflcient for their restraint, there being no reason to expect that the same amoilnt of military service will be needed to keep the peace during the coming year as has beeu required and eflecticely rendered during the past. It i8 couildeutly believed that even the present appliances, if held steadily to bear upon this class of Indians, will diminishits numbers Sear by year, by inducing them, partly through increasing contideuce and part,ly through streos of airaomstances, to undertake some sorc of civilized labor. The 52,113 people embraced in class two may be properly designated as Indian novitiates in civilization. They have largely broken away from heathenish practices, are generally aba~ido~iinthge medicine-daaoe, and have come directly under the influence of religious teaching. With scarcely an exception, their progress in civilization seems to keep pace with the. breaking dow~io f their pagan notions. They have furnishe~l the subjects upon which the main labor of the year has been bestowed by the agent,s, and by this labor its ranks have been largely recruited from those t~itl~ertaoil 11 and intractable. A glance a t almost any one of tho reports of the agents will show the enthusiasm and hopefulness whiol~h are beeu inspired by the marked improvements they have wit-nessed. For this class of Indians the begimiings of civil government, a large inarease of school facilities, lands in severalty, and generous assistance in furnishirtg teachers of trades and agriculture, together with farming |