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Show VIII REPORT OF THE COMMISSIOh\'ER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. that the Uolorado, Arizona, and New 31exico Indians, and a part if not all of those in Nevada, could also he taken to that Territory. Many of these Indians are now located on lands utterly unfit for culti-vation, where starvation or perpetual support by the Government are the only alternatives. It is doubtful whether even white people could culti. vate profitably the greater part of the Sioux reservation in Dakota. In the Indian Territorv. on the other hand. are fertile land. a genial climate. aud room fur lnore~ndiat~thl;a n tl~erea re in tile ah016 I'nion. That the Jodiau seutimrut is opposed to such removal id true. Di&. eulties. were rxprrienced in br ingi~~tog the 'l'cl.ritory its present inhab. i t a ~ ~ftrosm east of the JIissis.;il~[~ib; ut the obstacles nere overeoule, and cxl~e~ienceshowthsa t thr!rr tho race call tbrive. \Yitli a fair rlisgrer of persistel~cet he removal thither of otl~erI ndiansenn also lm secun:~l. The Pa\rnees hiire recently gone rBrre,and ticelu coote~lwt it11 their urn home. The Poneas,snd rvc!u 111t~l:eCd loud a11tl3pottc.dT ail Si o ~ ~ x , g i v ~ eridence that they are read\- for tllr ellanee; and it' Concreas will u~ako :I liberal : ~ ~ ~ r o ~ r i ' nttoi ielllni3 rt tho remo\'d of tbrse ~ i o u xi,~ i s iluite Itkuly illat \vithir~a y c a ~ o trw o, otller bands uon 011 the hlissouri River' may also be induced to remove. If the Sioux arc given a suitable reser. vation in that Territory for a permanent home, and are aided by the Goverument for a few Fears in their efforts at agriculture and stock-raising, I know of no reason whr thev may not, in one generation, beeou;~a s far nclrnnced nu ;#ret I1e%l1rr6kurs:111C hocta\~s;lo w. It is to be regretted that all t l ~ rI ni l ia~~i ns the United Statrs ~ : I I I I I O ~ be renio~rttlo the lu~li:~Tn? ~ritor.y; 11ut i t is0011btfulw hether, at least for mnny years, it pill be best to attempt to remove Indians thither tkom the region of the great lakes or from the Pacific eoast. I would therefore suggest that, for the tribes of Wiseousin and Minnesota, and the wandering Pembinas in Dakota, the Wh~te Earth reservation is best adapted as a permanent home. Oo~ltaining thirty-six tolrnships ot well-watered timber and wheat lands, it offers far better agricultural facilities than do other reservations in those States. and is in about the same latitude with them. I My information in regard to the proper reservation for the Iudians on I the Pacific eoast is less definite, and I have suggested the Yakama ; reservation, ~nainlgb ecause it is well kuown that the Iudians there, ' under the direction of Agent Wilbur, hare made remarkable progress. ' A commission now visit~oe the Indians iu that reciou has been rs * I clur.itecl to wake such s~g~e ' i t ioonns t he H I I ~ J ~ PaCs ~tG Yn ~ adj r en~w ise. I Tl~ciu ~portnnceo f redoc.ing t l~en u11111eorf restrv:ltioos is sl~owub y the following considerations : Many of the present reserves are almost worthless for agricultnral purposes; others are rich in soil, mineral wealth, and timber. Nearly all are too small to subsist the Indians by hunting, and too large for the111 to occupy in agricultural and civilized pnrsuits. Many are so remote and difficult of access, that needed supplies can he furnished onlyat groat expense. Xearlj all are surrounded by white settlers, more or less numerous. Wherever an Indian reservation has on it good land, or tirubrr, or minerals, the cupidity of the white Inan is excited, aud a constant struggle is inaugurated to dispossess the Indian, in which the avarice and determination of the white man usually prevails. The length of the boundary-line between the reservations and the contiguous white settlements amounts in the aggregate to thousands of miles, every wile being a point of contact and difficulty. This aggregate boundary is so extensive as to render almost impossible the 1,revention of illicic trade in arms and wbiskr. As now constituted, these reservatio~lsa re |
