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Show 134: REPORT OF AGENT IN COLORADO. . . beyond dressing of skins, making mocoa,sins ant1 bead work for personal use and adornment. They eke out their subsistenea b? hunting deer and killing their goats snd sheep, by sales of rnrplus hides, pelts, and wool. Di~ipoaition and habits, gambling and drinlong.-In these respects I find these Indima very much like the average of other eommunities. Some drink, eome gamble. I have seen, however, but one Indian under tho influence of liquor. A Mexican waa arretited on the charge of supplying Indiana with liquor, hut was aotquitted through lack of eridence. On issne days one can see several little groups seated on the ground around nn outspread blanket playing monte. The women take part and deal the oarrls in their tilm *ith the men. The stakes are small, rarely more then a nickel. Dispntea and quarrels orer the game rarely ooonr. In dispositiun tlley appear to be amiable nnd docile, and often take occasion to ilwress me wit.h their Msndsl~ipfo r t.he white8 and their desire to comply in every respect with the ~visheso f the Government, which they speak of as "Wn&hington." A very few talk English, "Americnno," but most of them nsr. Mexican withfluenoy. The nlarriago tie is not atrong, is ulade without eerenlony, snrl broke,, in the same way, the children, if any, going with the mother. Polygamous conneotiona, while not t,he rule, are lr3- no meals rare. Stook-raid%.-There are at ppraaent, as near as I can asoertain, about 8,000 head owned by these hldiims? classed as followa: Horses, 4,000; ocuttla, 50; sheep, 3,000; goot.3,1,000. Three-ionrths of the total is ovned by the Weenrinuchees. Hornsee.-The Gorernmeut has bnilt ten two-room houses for these Indians, and 1ndi:~nsh ave built fifteen. The Government houees are fixme, upright hoards and batt<ms, uuplsstered, exressively hot in nummer and cold in winter. The Indians, with few exoeptiolls, sat. their tepees in front for living purposes and ura the houses for c&t,tcha lls of odcls and ends. 'Those built by the 1ndi:ms me 4.f llosts setupright, chinlred aud daubed, witll dirt floors and roofs, one room. Some have one window, othe:rs none, a single door, nut1 mud fireplace. None hwe stoves. Very few have cheils or tablea. Alxlong the most progressme a oloth is laid on tbe floor, or ground, m d Phe family seat tlremselre~a round it. I n %nosot ases there are no regular mod timea. I have seru uo ~vomeaw orkin:: in the tielpa, but they carry the wood and water. The hertling ia done principally by the children, regardless of sex. Ssritsry.-There has been no epidemic disease among tltem during the yesr. Tho Indizms near the agency avail themselves freely of the physician's services for all their aihrkents. Those f'art,her away resort to him for surgical aid alone. We haw now at the agoncy an Indian who was brought from tho West. It nzns peoessary to amlnttate his thigh, :and he is now in a fair way to recover).. Police.-The force oonsists of z captain and twelve privates, divided among the thre': balds. Their dnties ma tomaintain order. and report trespassers, births and deaths, md they perforru these dnties sotisfaotorily. On the 26 of this nlonrh the graunrg, nhich ~t,ood Rome little dist,ance from the agency, was tired by n rnnn who had delireretl 801110 stolen cattle hers. The polio6 were pnt on his track and trailed him to the house of a settler near the res-ervation, thence to his own, and ffromthere iutoDurango, where he was arreeted, but after preliminary exnmiuation n-as held for the theft only, the jllstiee snying he hnd no jurisdiction orer the ,,on 28 h w i n , b~e en committed on the resormtion. Thwe have been no crimes committed by or against theIncIinns. They live in per-fect amity wit11 their white neighbors, and iit iu no uneomnlon thing to see white womq alone and in eonpler, driving or riding through tlre reservation. Some threats were made n ahort time since by the nhitus nrouncl Hioo and Dolores against some Iudinna who were in the ruouutains hunting. Several newspapers published sennational articles ou tlre sub,jeot and @en. MoCook wrote me ;a rer) kind letter with regard to it. I a ~ ~ s ~ v e rheidd in a. letter, which was pnhlished, sho~vingth a t tho 1:l~liansw ere entire17 within their tre%tqrights, and thematter died out a t onre. Improvements.-Xouc have bepn nlnde apparently for same years, although sad17 needed at the agency. No new land has been broken; a lit,tle new fencing of pas-ture. A new ~langhteringp en is now being oonstructed. The soales are being re- . placed and a shed bnilt over them. Conelusion.-A oarefr~ls tudy of these people during the short time I have been with them has convinced nie that they are uow at apoint from which a rapid advance can be mnde. From what I bhilve seen I do nut think they have had the encouragement snd assistance that hns been extended to other and less deseming Indians. I am not here from chuiae, but having been ordered to this duty it is my desire t,o do all that in me lies to nmke yon? administration a, success and to leave these Indians better oif than I foand t.hcm. Du:ring the year there were 27 births and 11 deaths reported, making an increase of 16 during the year. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. B. FREEMAN, Major, Siztwnth Imfafitn~, Acthg Agolt. The COMMrSslONER Or INDIAN A ~ ~ n m s . |
