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Show X X W REPORT OF COMMIBSlONER OF IND~ANA FFbEB. Terdtories of the expenses incident to theenforcement of the law, and extAnding its i)rovisions to that portiou of the Indian Territory not covered by the laws of the fire civilized tribes. I deem the passage of this or a similar bill to be necessary to the proper execution of the act. In Dakota especially the county authorities refuse to prosecute Indians guilty of the most serious offenses, on tbegrouud of the expense incideut to such prosecution. As the counties derive no revenue from the reservations within their.limits, the injustice of compelling them to Bssume the burden of these pros~:cntiona is apparent. SURVEYS OF INDIAN RESERVATIONS. The Indian appropriation act for the current year contains am appro-priation of $25,000- For sorvey of Indian reservations and of lands to be allotted to Indians, and tomake Sllotmenta in ~~veralty. Thisamountwill probably besufficient to mect the pressing necessities of %he heervice, so far as the survey of exterior boundaries arc concerned, and to remark former aurpeps. Requests have Imn made for the sub-divimonof townships on the Greas Sioux Reservntioo ; but very little of this work can be done. A similar appropriation should be made for,' several years to come, until all the reservations where allotments can. be made are subdivided and properly marked. TRESPASSES AND TIXBEE DEPREDATIONS ON WIBN LAXDS. At the last session of Congress the Senate again passed a bill (9.1055) to amend section 2148 of the Revised Statutes, in relatlou to tzespassers on Indian lauds, but, beyond reference to the House Committee on In- . dim Affaim, I do not find that any further action was had upon it. A bill (9.2131) was also introduced in the Senate to amend section 5388 of the Revised Statutes, in relation to timber depredations, so a8 to make it apply to Indian lauds, but was not reached before the adjourn-ment. The necessity for legislation on both these subjects has been so re-peatedly and emphatically urged in previous annual reports of this office that I deem it unnecessary to say anything more, except to ex-press the hope that Congress will see the importanceof finally disposing of both these measures at the ensuing session. LOGGING OPEEATIOXS BY INDIANS. During the season 1885-'86, 178 contracts for the cutting, sale, and delivery of pine logs, nuder Department authority of September 28, 1882 (full particulars whereof will be found in the annual report of this office for 1884), were made by individual Indian patentees of the Lac Court d'oreilles, Bad River, and Fonddu Lac reservations, attached to the La Pointe Agency in Wisconsin. Under these wntraata the Indians |