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Show L REPOKP OF THE COXMISSIOXEE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS ratified, and if Congress shall then assent to it, the question as to the settle~nenot f the Poncas under Standing Bear will have been settled. TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF UHIPPEWAS IN DAEOTA. The nnset,tled condition of affairs with these Indians has long been a matter of deep concern, not only to the Indians themselves, but to this bureau as well. Prominent amovg their tronbles is the uncer-tainty on their part as to the view held by the government relative to the status of the lands claimed by them, and the purposes of the de-partment in the matter of their ultimate disposal. The tract, of country inhabited and claimed by them is north and northwest of Devil's Lake, in Dakota, and is estimated to contain 9,500,000 acres. These lands have never bran ceded to the United States, and the claim of the Turtle Mountain Band to ownership is based upon continuous possession and occupation by them and their ancestors for mauy generations. That theIndian title to the country in question has never been extinguished or successfully disputed cannot be denied, and, according to the theory that has been adop~edb y the government, it wonld seem that these Indians have all the original rights in an un-ceded territory. Effort has been made from time to time to remove them to the White Earth Reservation, in Minnesota, but they have steadfastly resisted such removal, lest the abandonment of the country claimed by them might be looked upon as a. willing relinquishment of their title thereto. The condition of these people is deplorable in the extreme ; they have no permanent abiding place, are very poor, and, owing to the scarcity of game, which indeed may be said to ha,ve almost entirely disappeared, they have only the most scanty means of subsistence. Last year the agent at Devil's Lake Agency reported that chief Lit.tle Bull and his people were in areat danger of actual starvation. Emigrat,io~iis fast flowing into the com~tryt,o the great discomfort of the IndCans, and they desire and have repeatedly asked protection from the government. That their condition requires the attention of the government is mani-fest.. Petitions have bee11 presented from both sides, Indians and whites, asking for a set,tlement of their difficult,ies, and I propose to make the matter the subject of a special report, with a view to securing early Congressional action looking to their permanent relief. I mill add that the number of Indians roaming about over this vast area, homeless, destitute, and almost hopeless, is variously estimated at from 500 to GOO full-bloods and from 1,000 to 1,500 half-breeds. Little Chief's band of Northern Cheyennes, taken froru Sidney Bar-racks, Nebraska, reached the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agenqy, lndian Temitory, December 9, 1878. It appears that before leaving Fort |