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Show REPORT OF THE COXMISSIONEE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 29 acquire from the Indians for $700,000 lands estimated by the commis-sion to be worth over $2,500,000-a clear profit to them, and a couse-quent loss to the Indiai~so, f $1,800,000. The Puyallup Reservation is cor~tiguousto the rapidly growing city of Tacoma, and some of the lands, being suitable for resi~ler~cloet s, are worth vastly more than the average price per aore. In fact, it was stated in the instructiol~sto this commission that <s'o me of the lands are said to be worth as high as $6,000 per aore, while the water frout alone has been estimated to be worth millions of dollars." When the selections and appraisements shall have been made by the present commission and approved by the Secretary of the Interior! the landsare to be sold, after due notice, at public auction at not less thau %he appraised value, for cash or one-third cash, and the remainder on . such time as the Secretary may determine, to be secured by vendor's lien on the property sold. This method of procedure will give all par-ties desiring to purchase these Indian lands arl equal opportunity, and insure the Indians the full benefit of their land values. Osage Reservation, 0kla.-May 18, 1894, Messrs. James 9. Hook, John A. Gorman, and Joh~Li . Tullis were appointed a commission to nego-hiate with the Osage Indians for the surrellder to the Uuited States of such portion of their reservation in Oklahoma as they may be willing to cecie. This commission has not completed its labors. Chippewa Reservations, Dfinn.-In the annual report of this office .for 1890 will be found a brief account of the negotiations with the Chip-pewa Indians, in the State of Minnesota, for the complete cession and relinquishment in writing of all their title and interest in and to a1 their reservations in Minnesota, except the White Earth and Red Lake resersations, and to so much of these two reservations as in the judg-ment of the commission will not be required for the allotments pro-vided for in the act of Congress approved January 14,1889 (25 Stats., 642). The subsequent annual reportsgive brief statements of the work performed by the commission, from year to year, as reported by the commission. Since the completion of negotiations for the cession the efforts of the commission have mainly been directed toward securing removals from other reservations to the White Earth Reservation, in accordance with the provisions of said act of January 14,1889. The report of the chair-man of the commission, dated June 7,1894, shows that up to that time but 775 permanent removals had been secured. The total number of Indians subject to removal to the White Earth Reservation under the provisions of the act is about 4,000. The removal of but 775 in four years and four months suggested that the work of the commission might continue for an indefinite period, unless their efforts toward securing further removals should shortly ceme, and their entire time tllereafter be devoted to making the allotments. It certainly was not wntem-plated by the act that the option of removing to the White Earth Res- |
