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Show XXVI REPORT OF THE COMMIJSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. Mission Indians in California and the Spokaies a ~ i do thers in Wasli-ington Territory, the 1ndians;and their fathers bsfore them, have bsen residing upsn, cultivating, and improving small tracts of land for geile-rations. When these lands are surveyed and brought into market, the Indians, through ignorar~ceo f the law and the want of funds to pay the fees and commissions necessary to enter the laud occupied by them, fail to take advantage of the bellefits of the act of 1875 within the time prescribed by law after filing of the plats of survey in the district land-office, the result of which is that white men enter the India~i's land, drive him therefrom, and appropriate his improvements and the fruits of his industry and labor. A condition precedent to an Indian takiig advantage of the act of 1878 is that he must have abandoned his tribal relations. The policy of the government being to break up tribal relations among the differ-ent bauds of Indians, and to encourage them to take land in severalty, and to adopt the habits and pursuits of civilized life, they should re-ceive every encouragement in their efforts in that direction. Until a change in the law as above recomlneuded is made, it is of great importance that the department should hare at its disposal a fund tkat .tan be used for the payment of eutry fees and commisuious, and, with that end in view, an estimate for the sum of $5,000 has been sub-mitted. SURVETS OP INDIAN RESERVATIONS. The want of a proper aud exact definition of the boundary lines of so~neof the reservations by plain and perm~nentm arks is the cause of great and ever recurring embarrasstnent to the Indian service, and if not speedily supplied mnst inevitably result in serious conflicts be-tween the Indians and white settlers. The Indians are natnrally jeal-ous in respect to their land rigl~ts,w hile the wliites, covetons and hard to restrain, hover on their borders, and, iu tlie absence of lines officiirlly established and that are easily traceable, are not apt to be very pmic-tilious, to say the least, in deciding whether or not they are encroaching upon the Indians. On the otl~erhandt,h eInrlians, by reason of this in-definiteness of bonndary, do not hesibate to extend, pretent.ioosly, 6he limits of their possesvions whenever it suits their convenience to do so. Hence dispntes arise engendering the bitterest hostility, audthe agent, left to decide between them, often finds himself incapable of doing so with fairness, and, to avoid actual contlict, is sometilnes driven to arbi-trary measures. I know of no one thing that iis more fruitful of cliseor~l in the Indian conntry than the absence of proper marks and monllrneuts. to indimte t,he outboundaries of our Indian reservations. The SenCarlos division of theWhite MouutaiuReservation in Arizona Territory is a case in point. Extensive and valuable ioal deposits have been discovered along its southern line, and tbat these deposits are within the limits of the reserve there is bilt little doubt. But the boundary lines have nevkr been marked upon the ground or otherwise |
