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Show REPORT OF TFIX COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFNRS. XI ment against the execution of this solemn law of Congress, enacted with singular unaninimity of opinion among all sections and all political par-. ties in this country. The severalty act is upon the statutes as the de-liberate judgment of the people of the United States, and it is thedutp of the few white people who deprecated its passage, and they are few indeed, and especially the duty of the five civilized tribes, quietly and nncomplaining!y to submit to the carrying out of its provisions. For long years the Government has extended its protecting care over these people, using its Army to shield their homes from ruthless and u~llawful invasion and to prevent the absolute dest.ruction of their whole popu-lation. It has restrained the avarice of enterprising citizens, which, left unchecked, would long ago ha,ve numbered the five civilized t.ribes among the legends of the past, and now it learn* with surprise--to ex-press it no stronger-of their attempted interference with its settled policy toward other Indian tribes. It may fairly beasked whether this is a matter which properly concerns thsfive civilized tribes, and whether, if their efforts should materially hinder the cause of allotmentb, the American people would meekly submit to what is manifestly an insub-ordinate and unpardonable meddling with the &airs of the nation. I have been pleased, however, to note amongthe masses of these five tribes unmistakable signs of the awakening of a favorable sentiment in the direction of the policy which the Government has adopted for its . future administration of Indian affairs. In a recent election in the Oreek Nation, in the platform of principles announced by one. of the contend-ing parties is the following paragraph : We have noticed with muah concern the inclosing of large tracts of the public 'domain and thecommon pasturage by a few oitiaens to the exclusion of others. We condemn this practice as a species of monopoly that is in direot conflict with our sys-tem of land tenure. Every oitizan, whether rioh or poor, has an equal, and only an equal, intereat withevery other citizen in our landed estate ; andis, therefore,really and actually entitled to only a pro rata share ofthis om common heritage. We shall therefore endeavor to have the national oonuoil enaot a law regulating the sine ofeuch inclosurss, pastures, and the kind of materid to ba used in fcnoiog the same. The above extract would indicate that many ofthese Indians regard the time as having arrived when action should he taken cnrtailing these large holdings of shrewd and wealthy individuals, audin fact dividing up the land equally and justly among all the members of the tribe. Some of these holdings, as set forth in my last annual report, are very large. I quoted from Agent Owenls report the following: The Washita valley, in the Chiokasaw Nation, is almost a solid farm for 50 miles. I t is cultivated by white labor largely, with Chicbarn landlords. I saw one farm theresaid to contain 8,000 acreq another 4,000, and many other large and handsome places. In his report for this year Agent Owen uses similar language, as fol. lows : Some citizens have gone into the farming hosineas on a great scale, and are culti-vating large tracts of land, in some case8 exceeding 1,ODO acres, and, in one exceptional 0-0 in the Washita valley, as high as 8,030 acres are said to he in one corn farm. |