OCR Text |
Show has already been made to the Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, and Santee Indians. The boundary dispute has prevented an earlier payment. In Nareh last the Indians of the Rosebud Agency made a formal proposition, agreeing to allow such Lower Brnl6 Indians as desired to do so to settle and take lands in severalty upon the Rosebud Reservation as contemplated in the act above quoted, the Lower Bfnl6s so trans-ferred to cede and relinquish to the Rosebud Indians all their right, title, and interest in and to the Lower Brul6 Reservation. This propo-sition was submitted to the Lower Brul6 Indians with the nnderstand-ing that it must receive the consent of three-fourths of the male adult Indians occupying or interested in the Lower Brnl6 Reservat,ion in order to make it binding upon the tribe. It failed to secure a tbree-fourths vote, and consequently was rendered null and void, and all parties in-terested were so notified. The failure was due mainly to the condition imposed that the Lower Brul6s who desired transfer should cede their shnre of the Lower Bn1l6 Reservation to the Rosebud Indians. Rece~itlyA, gent Wright, of the Rosebud Agency, reported that the leading Indians of his agency were now in favor of allowing the Lower BrnlBs to settle upon their reservation without any suEh "land consid-eratio~ i,p~r'o vided three-fourths of their people (the Rosebud Indians) agree to it. Agent Wright has been directed to obtain, if practicable, the formal consent of theRosebud Indians to such arrangement, and it is to be hoped that this matter may be finally settled at an early date.* SIOUX DEPREDATION CLAIMS. By the act of March 3,1891 (26 Stats., 1002), Congress appropriated $100,000 to pay losses of friendly Sioux and of other legal residents on the Sioux Reservation for property destroyed or appropriated by disaeected Indians during the Sioux troubles in 1891. The claims presented numbered 745. They were carefully examined by Specia.1 Agent James H. Cooper, who paid out in settlement thereof $97,646.85. The aggregate sums stated by the Indians as representing their losses greatly exceeded the appropriation. UPPER AND MIDDLE BANDS OF SPOKANES. Congress, by act of July 13,1892 (Public, No. 119), accepted, ratified, and confirmed the agreement concluded with the Upper and Middle Bands of Spokane Indians March 18,1887, and for the purpose of car-rying it into etfect appropriated the sum of $30,000 as the first install. ment of the consideratio11 ($95,000) mentioned in said agreement. ~ *Since t&e date of this report the Rosebud I~ulians have refused to receive tho Lowa1'nrul6s, and the Indians hwe been informed that that action is conaidere11 final. |