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Show 76 REPOZT OF THE COMMI8IBBIONEE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. trial the defengeoontended that as the Pnyallup Indians are citizens of the State, the Government has no authority to appoint an agent or to exercise any special jurisdiction over them, and, this being so, it was elaimed that they could not be held to be under the charge of an Indian , - agent within the meaning of the law, aud that it is not against law to furnish them whisky. This point was sustained by the court, and the prisoner was discharged from custody. This decision, whether correct or not, has had the effect to demoral-ize the service at the Puyallup Agency. The Indian judges and police are unwilliug to risk arresting and punishing Indians of the Puyallnp Eeservation for Indian offenses, and the agent suggests the propriety of disbanding his courts and dismissing his police force. During the year important arrests of persons charged with furnish-ing the Indiaus with whisky have been made at the De$il's Lake Agency, N. Dalt., and the Tongue River and Blackfeet Agencies, Mont., and Long, James Minor, and James Williams were convicted earry in May for furnishing the Indians of the last-named a.gency with intoxicants. The agents in Nontana andNorth and South Dakota.have been very active in their endeavorstosuppress the whisky traffic with the Indians of their several agencies, and fro111 reports recently received I am encouraged to believe that this evil is abating in . . those States, where its effects have been most seriously opposed to the efforts of the Government to elevate and civilize the.Indians. As an illustration of the difficulties to be met with in the prosecution of parties furnishing whisky to the Indians, one incident reported to this officeby Agent Warner, of the Nevada Agency, would seem to be in point. After much trouble Agent Warner secured the arrest of.three white men who had been engaged in the traEc st Reno, Nev., and a Wadsnorth Indian, by name Johnnie Wadsworth, gave testimony at the trial, which resulted in the conviction and sentence of the prisoners. As a punishment for testifying and in order to intimidate other Indians and prevent them from appearing against whisky dealers in similar trials in the future, the friends of the parties convicted on Johnnie wadsworth's testimony killed him by administering poison. This case shows the desperate character of the men who engage in the traffic of whisky among h~diausa nd the necessity that the Crovernment should make every effort in its power to secure the punishment of every man who give* or otherwisefarnishes whisky to the Indians, not only to pre-vent the Indians from securing liquor but to protect them against the evil influences of such a lawless and degrading element of society. INDIAN TRADE. No change has been made in the policy pursued with reference to Indian traders which was outlined in my last report. By the growth of towns along reservation borders trade upon Indian reseri-ations has |