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Show XXXVlII REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. which were reported to the Department in office letter of August 16th last. Bills have been introduced in the present Congress "to restore the reservation to the public domain" (8. 813 and H. R. 112 and 7505). Provision is made therein, however, for the allotment of lands in sev-eralty to the Indians. THE TURTLE IIIOUXTAM BAND OF CHIPPEWAS IN DAKOTA. Agreeably with the recommendation contained in my last annual re-port, a permanent reservation has been made for the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewas in Dakota. At first townships 162 and 163 north, range 71 west, were selected, hut subsequently township 162 north, range 70 west, was substituted for township 163 north, range 71 west, so that the reservation as now existing embraces townships 162 north, ranges 70 and 71 west. (Executive orders dated March 29,1884, and June 3,1884.) TheseIndiaus will need some help for a time, and I shall ask for a small appropriation for that purpose in the estimates for the next fiscal year. COXMI8SD)N TO SIOUX OF DAKOTA. At the date of my last innual report the work of the Sionx Commis-sion had reached a point briefly, as follows: Congress having failed to ratify the agreemeut negotiated by said Commission under the act of August 7, 1882, presumably for the reason that it was not executed in literal compliance with the treaty of April 29,1868, the Commission were under instructions to continue negotiations with the Indians, pro-vision for that purpose having been ma,de in the sundry civil appropri-ation act of March 3, 1883 (Stat. 22, p. 624), but their final report had not been submitted to the Department. The attempt to procure the signatures of three-fourths of the male adult Indians, as required, proved unsuccessful, and the agreement was returned to the Depart-ment without change. A full history of the proceedings of the Oom-mission and the causes which led to the failure,is set out in their re-port to the Department dated December 31,1883. Said report together with the agreement and all correspondence between the Department and any official or other iudividuals concerning said agreements or the ratific&t.ion thereof is printed in Senate Ex. Doc. No. 70, Forty-eight11 Congress, first session, in which form it mill be found easy of reference. It having been represented to the Department that the Risseton aud Wahpeton and the Yankton bauds of Sioux were desirous of dis-posing of a limited portiou of their respective reservatious, the Sioux Commivsion were instructed, under date of May 10th last, to visit said reservatious artd ascertain if such was the case, and if so to negotiate with them as to the quantity they would cede, the conditions as to the price, $c. No report has been received from them up to this date, but the agent for the Sisseton and Wahpeton bauds reports that his Indians |