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Show 28 COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. ter than the previous year, even in spite of the severe drouths of the early season and the excessive rain late in the summer and fall. This year their unabated activity and the generous spring rains indicate a bumper Indian crop. At Fort Hall, Idaho, 15 Indians planted 113 acres in sugar beets, raising about 463 tons, which they have delivered at the factory in excellent condition. In nearby beet fields of white farmers Indian women have had ready employment and have received $1.50 a day. At this reservation the Indians have taken to farming with con-siderable enthusiasm; each year they have inoreased the a m g e sowed. In two districts, Rossfork and Ponca Creek, the Indians farm all land which is suitable for cultivation; although they have received little direct assistance from the Government they own thrash-ing machines, mowers, and reapers. At the Winnebago Reservation, Nebr., 181 Indians have actually in crops 11,800 acres. Estimated very conservatively the value of the crops now standing will he $105,000; the value of the Indians' crops last year was $90,000. The appreciation of these Indians of the advantages of living on their lands appears in their desire for improvements; at the present time nine full sets of farm buildings are under construction, costing from $1,200 to $2,900 a set. At the neighboring reservation of the Omahas 40 more Indians are farming this year than last year, having in cultivation 16,000 acres, an increase for this year of almost 2,000 acres. In the western portion of the Yakima Reservation, Wash., corn crops this year will probably surpass the crops reported last year; between 20,000 and 25,000 bushels of various kinds of grain will be harvested. At Shoshone, Wyo., 138 Indians are now farming as against 93 last year; they have increased the crop of oats from 1,254 to 21,510 bushels, the crop of wheat from 136 to 2,000 bushels, and the crop of alfalfa from 1,800 to 3,200 tons. Although last year's drought seriously injured crops at Kickapoo Reservation, Hans., the Indians this season planted 7,500 acres in corn, wheat, and oats, an increase of at least 1,500 acres. Notwith-standing the Indians at Crow Creek, S. Dak., have faced two suc-cessive crop failures, and at best have land which is not particularly adapted for farming, they this spring plowed 3,000 acres, 680 acres of which was broken for the first time. At Fort Yuma, Ariz., where allotment has recently been made, a number of Indians began clearing their allotments as soon as the surveyors left the field. Since March, 17 Indians have been getting water from the irrigation system, most of them having excellent farms with good crops. In eastern Oklahoma 8 expert farmers and 4 additional farmers have been employed among the full-blood population of the Five |