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Show . . ,. ..' .~. , - . . , ' , . . , .. . 3 ~-tm,** - , ,, 2 : r XL' REPORT OF THE COMXISSIOKER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. nothing left to the Indian but to attach llimself to the soil and follow the pursuits of civilized life. In this he should be encouraged and as-sisted in every possible way, and nothing can be farther from the pur. pose than to keep moving him from one place to another. Leaving out the five civilized tribes and the Alaska Iu~liansi,t would take. about 30,000:000 acres of land to give to every Indian in the Vnited States-man, woman, and child-100 acres each. There would '- still remain, in round numbers, f%,000,000 acres of Indi a , l~a nd, (esclu-sire OF the reservations of the five civilized tribes), which, at $1 per acre, probably a fair averixge, would yield $liG;000,000, the aunnal iu-terest on which, at fire per cent, would be $3,:i00,000-a sum sufficient to pay the entire cost of educating all theIndian children in the United States. At the end of a few years, the principal sum might properly be distributed per capita among the rightful owners to assist them in improving their homes, when they could be left like other citizens to aare for themselves. Here we have an immense landed estate belongiug to the Indians, which, if judiciously managed by the Government, ought to place them on the high road to prosperity, and relieve t.he Government of a great financial bnrden. It isuot essential to their prospnrity that they should have a great fund in the Treasury to draw upan for t.heir support; on the contrary, it would be a positive evil. Bnt I would sell their surplus lands, place the money in the Treasury, and expend the interest in as-sisting them to break and fence their lands, to build cornfortablehouses, to provide themselves with a.gricultura1 implements, seeds and stock, and, most important of all, to educate their children. It will not do to say that they do not hold their laud by such a title as to render it obligatory upon the Government to give them the pro-ceeds of the sale of their surplus. A11 of which I have spoken is held by t,hem either by virtue of sacred treaty stipulation, by act of Congress, or by executive order, and with possibly a few exceptions, even those who occupy reservations established by authority of Congress, or by execntive orderi have as good a claim, in equity, to absolute owner-ship as those who hold them by virtue of treaties withthe Government. As already stated, the generalallotment act of February 8,1887, con-firms the Indian titlein all existing reservations. It provides that in all cases where any tribe or band of Indians has been or shall hereafter be locatedupon any reservation created for their use, "either by t,reaty stipulation or by virtne of anact of Congress, or by executive order, set-ting apart the same for their use," the President of the United States may. whenever in his opinion any reservation or any part thereof is suit-able for the purpose, allot the lands of said reservation in severalty to the Indians located thereon, in quantities as specified; and that after lands shall have been so allotted, or sooner, if in the opinion of the Presi-dent it shall be for the best interests of the Indians, it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with such Indian tribe for the purchase and release by said tribe, in conformity with the treaty or |