OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. YII IholwdW the Nmt e and Er n e of mrc8&tiwain 0mp~d1os)s &tut, That the President rd the United States is hereby anthoriaad and reqnestsd to take sooh mewuves as, in his jodgment, msy oenecessayto prevenb soah mat&lUoa mmnnitionb eing conveyed to sooh h a s t i l e I n h , and is forther aothorized t o d e o h the ssme"",*tra.band of war in #"oh dietdot of Nmntrraa hemapdesignstadoring the oontinmoe of hostilities% To carry into effect the above-cited resolution, the sale of fixed ammunition or me-tallic cartridges by any trader or other person in any district of the Indian wnntry oooupied by hostile Indiana, or over whioh they roam, is hereby prohibited; and all sudh ammunition or cartridees introduced into said country hv traders or other Dm- ! . . sons, and that are liable in any way or manner, direotly or indirectly, to he received by such hostile Indians, shall be deemed contcsband of war, seieed by any militaqy offloer and confiaoated: and the district of countrv to whichthis ~mhibitions hell an-ply during the continuance of hostilities is hereby designated as that vhioh embraoes &U Indian country, or oomtcy oooupied by Indians, or subject to their visits, lying within the Territoriaaof Montana. Dakota. and Wvomin-,~ a. nd the Statea of Nebraska, and Colorado. U. 8. GRANT. The foregoing resolution is, at best, only aspecimen of very looselegis-lation. In lieu thereof a well-considered penal statute should have been enacted forbidding such sales not only in the Northwest, but wher-ever there are non:civilized Indians, whether on or off reservations. The danger always is that such trading will be carried on just outside reservation limits, where all sorts of contraband sales are effected and where Indian agents are powerless. Again, the joint resolation prohibits the sale of "metallic ammunition" only, and not of arms as well. The right of purchasing arms ad Zibitvna is the eviloomplainedof. Without arms, ammnnition would be of nouse, and the latter can be traded in to any extent with little danger of de-tection, since it can be emily carried concealed about the person. Thesale of arms, on the other hand, could be readily detected and exposed; and it is against such sales that legislation should especially be directed. It would almost seem as if the very men engaged in this murderous tmffic had framed the above resolution to protect their guild and to enable tthem to ply their trade with impunity., When it is considered how many lives have been lost during the time which has elapsed since the pas-aage of this resolution (which' virtually permits this nnhallowed trade in the implements of death), it is strange that no adequate legislation has been had for the protection of human life. A law by Congress pro-hibiting under severe penalty the sale of both fire-arms and fixed ammnu-nition to non-civilized Indians, is the only common-sense and practicable method of putting an end to this dangerous tramc. The work of promoting Indian education is the most agreeable part of the labor performed by the Indian Bureau. Indian children are as bright and teachable as average white children of the same ages ; and while the progress in the work of civilizing adult Indians who have had no educational advantages is a slow process at best, the progress of the youths trained in our schools is of the most hopeful character. During |