■ u-'Jif- ,.f ' •'** A. 
 
 
 
 
 'if:? 
 
 
 ,- * -.^ . ■■;■ 
 
 m/i*^: 
 
Di 
 
 TH. dtt. show, when Wi WMl iU Meu. 
 
 Tto ranmr tha book oopr lb* call No. and give to 
 libcmhaa. 
 
 thcUb 
 
 Jfe^;:^4-)96»^AA- 
 
 rCD-» f ?* i yy T "W" ''P" 
 
 3tltata, 
 
 THE < 
 
 HOMB USB RULES 
 
 All Books nibjoct to RociJl 
 
 All borrowera molt ragn- 
 tar in the UbFwy to bonow 
 boola for faome uM. 
 
 All book* mint be m- 
 tarned at end o( college 
 year for inipection and 
 icpain. 
 
 Limitad books mutt be ra- 
 tarned within the four week 
 limit and not renewed. 
 
 Students must return all 
 books before leaving town. 
 Officers should arrange (or 
 the return of book* wanted 
 during their absanoe from 
 town. , 
 
 Volumes of periodicals 
 and of pamphlets are held 
 in the library as much as 
 possible. For special pur- 
 poses they are given out for 
 a limited time. 
 
 Borrowers should not use 
 their library privileges (or 
 the benefit of other persons. 
 
 Books o( special value 
 and gi(t books, when the 
 giver, wishes it, are not 
 allowed to circulate. 
 
 Readers are asked to re- 
 port aU cases o( books 
 marked or mutilated. 
 
 lyidiarL Rl' 
 
 J 
 
 Do not deface books by marks and writing. 
 
Cornell University Library 
 E 99.D1W46 
 
 Report of a visit to the great Sioux res 
 
 3 1924 028 759 391 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028759391 
 
A.3?o23l 
 
 REPORT OF A VISIT 
 
 Great Sioux Reserve, 
 
 MADE IN BEHALF OF 
 
 THE INDIAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION, 
 
 BT OKDER OP THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 I RESPECTFULLY present to the Executive Com- 
 mittee of the Indian Rights Association the following 
 Report of my journey through most of the principal 
 agencies on the Great Sioux Reserve : 
 
 On Friday night, May i8th, I reached the town of 
 Pierre, which is in Dakota Territory and lies on the eastern 
 bank of the Missouri River, thirty miles south of Fort 
 Sully. It forms the present terminus of the Chicago and p^i^e-popaiation, 
 Northwestern Railroad and numbers some two thousand 
 inhabitants. Pierre is at present full of that spasmodic 
 activity which often characterizes towns in the far West — an 
 activity which cannot in all instances be relied upon for 
 permanent duration. Pierre's ultimate prosperity is closely 
 interwoven with the speedy triumph of the Sioux Agree- 
 ment, as it lies opposite the large section of land extend- 
 ing across the reservation west of the Missouri. This, when 
 
the 
 
 ment 
 
 thrown open to white settlement, will permit railroad com- 
 munication with the town of Deadwood in the Black Hills. 
 The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad proposes to run 
 its tracks west from Pierre to this place, just as the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul hopes to do from the 
 town of Chamberlain, about one hundred miles lower down 
 on the Missouri. It will therefore be readily understood 
 Interest of Pierre that both Picrre and Chamberlain have a strong interest in 
 
 '' 'Chamberlain in i • ' t \^ 
 
 Sioux Agree- the passage of the agreement and are impatient oi the 
 delay to which it has already been subjected. 
 
 On Saturday, May 19th, we took the stage for Chey- 
 enne River Agency, via Forts Sully and Bennett. On our 
 way we passed through " Peoria Bottom," a very fertile 
 
 Indian settlement "' * . '^ . . I , 
 
 in "Peoria Bottom." stretch of couutry lying along the Missouri and beyond 
 the limits of the reservation, where the Rev, Thomas 
 Riggs, of the Congregationalist Church, has for some 
 years conducted most successfully a mission among the 
 Indians. He has about one hundred families under his 
 care, who own and cultivate the land upon which they live, 
 exercise the right of voting as citizens of the United 
 States, have built many of the houses in which they reside, 
 and in all respects have made commendable progress in 
 civilization. I would draw attention to the fact that these 
 sucxCTsfuiiaborsof jjj^jjj^j^g Q^g (.j^g comfort of their present condition almost 
 
 Rer. Ihomas Kiggs, i 
 
 exclusively to the faithful and indefatigable energy of their 
 friend, Mr. Riggs, to whose exertions it was due that, when 
 this section of land was withdrawn from the reservation 
 proper and thrown into the market, their prior right was 
 protected by Government authority from the aggression of 
 white men, who endeavored to take claims upon the very 
 ground on which their houses and farms were located. 
 
 Later in the afternoon we crossed the Missouri River, 
 in the neighborhood of Fort Bennett, and were met on the 
 
west bank by Mr. Kinney, who drove us over almost im- 
 passable roads to St. John's School, which is about two st. John's school, 
 miles distant from Cheyenne River Agency. This school, Agen7y;°Thiny- 
 although conducted in a Government building, which js ^-s*" i"<"^" ^'•'^■ 
 altogether inadequate to its needs, is supported by the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church, under the direction of Bishop 
 Hare. Mr, and Mrs. J. F. Kinney, are the principals in 
 charge and are assisted by Miss Stevens. About thirty- 
 eight Indian girls are receiving tuition at this school, all of 
 whom are from the Cheyenne River Agency. Some of 
 these children are half-breeds, but the majority of them are 
 of full Indian blood. It is hardly possible for me to speak 
 in too high terms of the discipline and general manage- 
 ment displayed in this institution, or of the patience and 
 zeal which could achieve such results as I there saw 
 everywhere recorded. The bright, happy, and attractive 
 appearance of the children, the neatness of their dress, the 
 respectfulness of their manner toward those in authority 
 over them, the promptness and industry shown in the per- 
 formance of household duties, the correct and ready 
 answers of the school-room, bore abundant testimony to 
 the capacity of the teachers and the excellence of the ma- 
 terial which they hope to develop into a pure and honor- 
 able womanhood. It is a suggestive fact that all the 
 household work of St. John's School is performed without Household work of 
 
 -' . . -"^ St. John's School 
 
 any outside help whatever. This is an unusual result, and performed by cwi- 
 
 ^.ff^ ^ f 1*1 i\/ri ■ dren and teachers- 
 
 one very dimcult of accomplishment. My observations at 
 this school impressed me with the fact that boarding- 
 schools upon reservations have a distinct and important 
 part to play in the scheme of Indian civilization, and that 
 they exercise a wholesome influence not only upon the 
 children gathered within their walls, but upon parents 
 and "relatives without. Schools for Indian children situated 
 
at points far distant in the East are of the highest value in 
 cultivating sympathy among our own people, and awaken- 
 ing in them such a sense of the capacity of this despised 
 race, as will ultimately leave its impress upon National 
 difn'^rchoTin Ae^^g^s^^tion; they confer great benefits upon those who 
 *^' desire to learn special trades or to profit by the more 
 
 elaborate instruction which such institutions can offer. But 
 The majority of In- it rcmalus an evident fact that the great mass of Indian 
 
 dian children must be 1-11 it 1 « 1- « 
 
 educated on or near Children must be educated near or where their people are 
 the reservations, jocatcd, aud arc to be fitted for a simple pastoral or agri- 
 cultural life. They must be taught in day-schools and 
 boarding-schools upon their reservations, or in towns 
 adjacent to them. 
 
 On Sunday, the day following that of my arrival at 
 Cheyenne River Agency, I attended two services held by 
 Bishop Hare and Rev. Henry Swift at the Htde Mission 
 Chapel built by the Episcopal Church for the benefit of the 
 Indians. Both of these services were largely attended, and 
 a number of Indians were baptized and confirmed by the 
 Bishop. There is another station about one hundred miles 
 further up the Missouri, at the mouth of the Moreau River, 
 which is under the charge of Rev. Mr. Swift. To this 
 place quite a number of the more energetic and enter- 
 prising of the people have gone, and are said to be making 
 very positive advance toward civilization. It is to be 
 
 The more active In- 111 
 
 dians settle at points remarked that usually the more vigorous and independent 
 lgenc°y!° """ ' ' among the Indians settle themselves at points far distant 
 from the agency, while the weak and inert cluster 
 around the centre from which their supplies are to be 
 obtained. Mr. Swan is the present agent at Cheyenne 
 River Agency, and has occupied this position for six or 
 eight months. I believe that he is sincerely interested- 
 in performing the difficult duties of his station to the best 
 
of his ability, and that he is anxious to render the Indian 
 Rights Association any help which may be consistent with 
 his obligations to the Government. I found quite a 
 number of Indians in the immediate neighborhood of the 
 agency engaged in farming. In one case I noticed a piece 
 of land, some sixty acres in extent, under cultivation, which indian&rms. 
 was being worked by seven families. That these attempts 
 should, in most instances, be upon so small a scale is due 
 to the fact that the Indian is lacking in those motives upon 
 which the white man's industry mainly depend, and in prac- 
 tical instruction in agriculture ; from which he is almost 
 entirely cut off by his isolated position and the neglect of . 
 Congress to furnish him, not with rations, but with farmers 
 to direct his feeble efforts. Not .only at Cheyenne River, but 
 at every agency which we visited, I was forcibly impressed „Jj^j"°^™/^°^^" 
 with the wisdom of a gradual reduction of the ration system, "«• 
 in which the liberality of the Government, in some instances 
 at least, has been without stint ; and with the necessity for an 
 increase, through funds thus saved, of the force of skilled 
 employees, whose example to the people among whom they 
 labored would be of untold value. A continuance of the a gradual reduc- 
 
 . , r 11 ■ ■ 1 ■ tion of rations desira. 
 
 ration system in its present luUness is simply a premium bk. 
 offered to idleness and pauperism. Such a system would 
 bring about in a white community most disastrous results, 
 by removing that spur to exertion which the majority 
 even of a strong race require to induce them to labor. 
 In some instances the Indians have themselves felt the 
 injury inflicted upon them' by a dependence on rations, 
 as at Sisseton Agency, where, stimulated by the example of 
 white neighbors, they have requested the Government to 
 withdraw these gifts of food and to furnish them in their 
 stead with farming implements and tools. While at Chey- 
 enne River my attention was called to the fact that very 
 
High prices atexorbitant prices were charged the Indians for materials 
 windiLbymders. and supplies of all kinds by traders doing business upon 
 the reservations, twice, sometimes three times, the value 
 of an article being demanded. I know from personal ex- 
 perience and from the experience of others, that at the 
 trader's stores goods are frequently sold to whites for one- 
 half the price asked an Indian. I failed to discover any 
 satisfactory explanation of this curious fact. 
 
 On Monday night. May 21st, Bishop Hare had ar- 
 ranged a meeting with the Christian Indians, to take 
 place at the Mission Chapel. The original design of this 
 meeting was somewhat altered by the attendance of 
 quite a large party of Indians belonging to the wilder 
 Mating held with gigjnenl; from up the river. "The Hump" and his band 
 
 Indians, and dissat- ^ ^ ^ , 
 
 isfacdon expressed were prcscttt, who are said to have been in close sym- 
 sioux colmisston. pathy with "Sitting Bull" during the troublous times of 
 1876. The object of these men was evidently to express their 
 dissatisfaction with the work of the Sioux Commission, by 
 whom they were visited during the past winter, and by whom 
 their signatures were obtained to an agreement providing for 
 the cession of eleven million acres of the reservation land. 
 One and all of them assured us that they had no desire to 
 sell their land, that it was not more than sufficient for them- 
 selves and for their children, and that the Commissioners 
 had forced them, although they were unwilling so to do, to 
 Hull Eagle's speech, sign the agreement. "Bull Eagle," a man of gigantic 
 stature, in a vigorous speech declared that he had been 
 forcibly dragged forward to sign the paper. Here, by way 
 of illustration, he seized me by the wrist and rudely lifted 
 me to my feet. Doubdess there was much exaggeration 
 in these statements, but from all we could learn, here and 
 elsewhere, concerning the work of the Commissioners, the 
 pressure brought to bear upon the Indians at Cheyenne 
 
River was very strong, and their signatures were given 
 
 with great reluctance. The story that they were threat- ^'po^ of strong 
 
 T-li- T1*T«* -1 pressure used to ob- 
 
 ened with being sent to Indian Territory, in the event of tain signatures to the 
 their refusing to comply with the wishes of the Com- *^'"'""'' 
 mission, was widely circulated and harmonized with yvhat 
 I afterward learned while at Lower Brule. I visited 
 the day-school for Indian children while at the Agency, 
 found it well attended by twenty-five to thirty children, 
 conducted by an efficient lady teacher, and doing, so far as 
 my brief observation would permit me to judge, thor- 
 oughly satisfactory work 
 
 On Tuesday morning, near midday, in company with 
 Bishop Hare, I left St. John's School by carriage en route 
 for Pierre. We crossed the Missouri River and then Fortsuiiy. 
 passed an hour at Fort Sully, calling to pay our respects 
 to Colonel Dodge, the commanding officer, who unfortu- 
 nately was absent upon a hunting excursion. To Lieuten- 
 ant and Mrs. Mecklin we are indebted for hospitality 
 shown us during our brief stay. 
 
 Tuesday night was passed with Rev. Mr. Riggs, in 
 Peoria Bottom, with whom the Bishop and I conversed at 
 length concerning the Sioux Agreement. Mr. Riggs ^r. Riggs- views 
 expressed himself as strongly in favor of opening the °'' *= ^'°'"' -^^ree- 
 section of land to white settlement, as proposed by the 
 Commission, but adverse to many of the terms of the 
 present agreement, upon the ground that they were unjust to 
 the Indians. He told us that he had not been present at 
 the councils which the Commissioners held with the Indians 
 at Cheyenne River, but that, judging from the reports of men 
 who were there and in whom he had confidence, he believed 
 that undue pressure had been employed to gain the signa- 
 tures of the people. His views were substantially entertained 
 by Bishop Hare, and were expressed to Congress during the 
 
past session by this Association, viz.: that an equitable 
 division of the present Great Sioux Reserve is desirable, 
 both for Indians and whites, but that the form in which that 
 division is at present proposed is not equitable. 
 
 On Wednesday morning, before continuing our journey 
 to Pierre, we visited several Indian families residing in the 
 neighborhood of the mission. Their condition was most 
 encouraging. They were living in comfortable, two- 
 story log houses, built by themselves, near which were 
 Encouraging pro- growing Small groves of young cottonwood trees, planted 
 ^oria°Bot"om*"' "in imitation of that which surrounded the parsonage. One 
 man, we noticed, had a goodly number of milking cows in 
 fine condition and well sheltered, a vegetable garden, and, 
 in addition to his farm, a miniature flower garden. This 
 sight was to us a very convincing proof of the change 
 which earnest, well-directed labor can effect in the condi- 
 tion of a wild and degraded people. When Mr. Riggs first 
 began his labors in behalf of these Indians, his life was 
 threatened by them and his cabin frequently fired into at 
 night. 
 
 We reached Pierre on Wednesday at noon, and that 
 
 evening Bishop Hare held a meeting with some of the 
 
 Meeting held by representative men of the place, in order to consult with 
 
 repre^Ltativl me n them regarding the Sioux Agreement, the cause of its 
 
 the'stoTxA^'minf failure to pass Congress last session, and the best method 
 
 of securing for it a favorable consideration during the 
 
 coming winter. The feeling of these gentlemen, of whom 
 
 there were some eight or ten present, seemed to be one of ^ 
 
 great surprise, and in some instances of annoyance, at the 
 
 failure of the bill. One of them told us that he had been 
 
 informed by Mr. Teller, the brother of the Secretary of the 
 
 Interior, that there could be no question but that the bill 
 
 would pass, and that he had, therefore, supposed its success 
 
to be certain. The Bishop explained very calmly and 
 lucidly the ground of opposition which the friends of the 
 Indians held toward the agreement as it now stood. First, objections to sioux 
 that the Commission had failed to comply with the terms frTeraT of the in- 
 of the Treaty of 1868, requiring the signatures of three- '^'^'"' 
 fourths of the male adult Indians before land could be 
 ceded ; second, that some Indians, by its provisions, will 
 be unnecessarily removed from their farms and homes 
 by the opening up of the reservation ; third, that no pro- 
 vision had been made by which the various religious bodies 
 shall have their mission houses, churches, and the land 
 upon which they were built secured to them from the 
 claims of white settlers (these bodies have undertaken the 
 work of civilizing the Indians, at the request of the Govern- 
 ment, and have spent large sums of money, during the 
 course of many years, in the prosecution of their work) ; 
 fourth, that the compensation offered the Indians for the 
 cession of eleven million acres of their land was far short - 
 of its real value, the equivalent of the compensation 
 offered being ^970,000, or, at its highest possible estimate, 
 ^2,470,000, whereas, the value of the land to be ceded, at 
 its lowest estimate, is ^6,875,000. 
 
 The Bishop then explained that there was no desire Friends of the in- 
 
 on the part of the missionaries or the friends of the Indians opMtoV"the'^Siou°x 
 
 to- obstruct any equitable plan by which the reservation f^='=^'™"°"_^p°J°°;; 
 
 . should be opened: that the main ground occupied both by *^" >>= p'^'=='1 '" *° 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ■' equitable form. 
 
 . them and the people of Dakota was the same ; and that, 
 just so soon as the present objectionable terms of the bill 
 should be removed, those who had hitherto opposed it 
 would work heartily in its favor. I think the Bishop's 
 words produced an impression upon those who heard them. 
 No effort was made to refute the justice of his objections, 
 but, so far as I could judge, the feeling of those present was, 
 
10 
 
 "If we can be sure that the bill will go through as it stands, 
 why should we seek to disturb it because it is not altogether 
 consistent with ideal justice to the Indians ?" One gentle- 
 man present acknowledged the force of the Bishop's argu- 
 ment, so far as his imperfect knowledge of the facts of the 
 case would permit him to judge of it, and expressed a 
 willingness to act in concert with him in any movement to 
 Disposidon of the pu^ ^j^g ^jjn jj^ bcttcr form. Subsequently, one of those 
 
 citizens of Pierre to *■ T. • ' 
 
 pressthebiu through present remarked to the Bishop and myself, during a con- 
 
 Congress. . l i ■ t t • i ii 
 
 versation upon the subject, "I suppose I might as well 
 acknowledge, gentlemen, that our object is to secure the 
 passage of the bill — about the terms of it we do not 
 greatly care !" 
 
 From Pierre we made our way to Chamberlain, 
 and thence across the Missouri to Lower Brule 
 Reservation. Here we were the guests of the Rev. Luke 
 Walker, a full-blooded Sioux Indian and a clergyman 
 LowerBruifiAgency.Qf jj^g Protestant Eplscopal Church, whose hospitality, 
 and that of his wife, we enjoyed during the three days of 
 our stay. The aspect of affairs at Lower Brul6 has, 
 during the past few months, been unfavorable, and the 
 condition of the Indians unsettled. Their Agent has very 
 recently been removed by the Department, and Mr. 
 Agent Gaman. Gasman, formerly in charge at Yankton Agency, appointed 
 in his place. The appointment of this gentleman I regard as 
 most opportune ; his record is good, and his experience in the 
 duties of his station, gathered during past years, will form 
 a valuable equipment for his present work. The Indians, 
 to many of whom he is personally known, have received 
 him with open arms, and upon many occasions during our 
 visit expressed great pleasure at his appointment. 
 Lituc pheasant-B Qn the aftemoon of Friday, May 2'5th, we drove five 
 
 or six miles from the agency to " Little Pheasant's " camp, 
 
11 
 
 at the mouth of the White River, where a small settlement 
 
 of Indians has been planted, and Bishop Hare has stationed 
 
 a mission chapel under the charge of a native catechist. 
 
 These people have been doing fairly well in their movement 
 
 toward civilization. They occupy the arable bottom lands 
 
 along the Missouri, and have in all from two hundred to 
 
 two hundred and fifty acres of ground under cultivation. 
 
 They, with the rest of the Lower Brule people, have been Ai»rm occasioned 
 
 much alarmed and discouraged at the proposition brought comZI^r"" 
 
 tQ them by the Sioux Commission, which, if successfully 
 
 carried out, would throw all the land which they now 
 
 occupy into the possession of the white man, and remove 
 
 tjiem from their farms and homes. 
 
 It is difficult for these Indians to understand the basis 
 upon which that policy rests which at one moment urges 
 them to adopt civilized pursuits and the habits of white 
 men, and at the next robs them of their farms and destroys 
 their homes. The feeling expressed by those Indians with 
 whom we talked at Lower Brule regarding the cession of 
 land was one of strong opposition to the measure. None None of the Lower 
 
 ri TJ' c 11 1 ■ 11 Bnil6 Indians sign 
 
 oi these Indians, so tar as we could gather, signed the the agreement. 
 agreement. This is hardly to be wondered at. They are 
 living on the very section of land to be given up (which is 
 not the case with the Upper Brule or Spotted Tail band at 
 Rosebud, or the Ogallalas at Pine Ridge, whose reserva- 
 tions are far to the south of the White River and of the 
 land to be ceded), and their removal was naturally distaste- 
 ful to them. They were told that the agreement would be 
 carried through independently of their consent, as sufficient 
 signatures had been obtained at the larger and more distant 
 agencies (Rosebud and Pine Ridge, which were among the 
 first visited by the Commission) to render it valid. In 
 order to give some understanding of the light in which the 
 
12 
 
 matter was shown to the Lower Brule Indians, and the 
 arguments used in order to obtain their consent to the 
 agreement, I quote from a letter of Agent Parkhurst to 
 Rev. Luke Walker, written at Crow Creek Agency under 
 date of February 2 2d, 1883. Agent Parkhurst writes as 
 follows : 
 
 Rev. Luke Walker, 
 Extract from Agent Mv Dear Sir : — I havc sccn the Commissioners 
 R^'^Ll^wXr-'^this morning and have had some talk with them which 
 I wish to state to you. Mr. Teller has just returned 
 from Washington, and states that the feeling at the 
 Secretary's office is this: -First, that the plan of the 
 Department in relation to the agreement will be carried out 
 whether the Brule sign or not, as the number who have 
 signed the agreement are more than necessary by the 
 treaty of 1868; second, that Lower Brule Agency may 
 be, and probably will be, abolished during the coming year, 
 and probably the coming summer; should this be the case 
 the tribe will have to move somewhere, just where to be 
 settled by order of the Department ; and it does not matter 
 whether they wish to go or not, they will be, moved if 
 Lower BniiL- In- nccded, by the military : third, in the case they do not 
 
 dUns threatened .. . . _, ,l, ^. 
 
 with lou of every- agrcc and do not sign and are moved, they will get nothing 
 '^^ibtlpi^L^u for the improvements made, houses built, lands broken, or 
 anything at all ; but in case they do agree, they will be 
 paid for all these things at a fair price: fourth, they will 
 go [presumably " get no"] advantage given them even if 
 they are moved in a body, and they will, in fact, cease to be 
 a separate tribe, with no agency, no homes, no lands, 
 except such as may be designated by order of the Pres- 
 ident, and which may be taken from them at any hour by 
 the same authority. Sincerely yours, 
 
 W. H. Pakkhukst, U. S. Indian Agent. 
 
i;} 
 
 We found the Government Boarding-School at Lower Government Board- 
 Brule temporarily closed. The children were all withdrawn B^i/doted! 
 by their parents, through fear that severe measures were 
 about to be adopted in order to maintain discipline. So far . ,, , ' ' ' 
 as I was able to learn, their dissatisfaction was not ground- 
 less. It is Mr. Gasman's intention to re-open the school 
 and begin the work afresh as soon as possible. I see no 
 reason why there should be any difficulty in conducting a 
 satisfactory school at this place, since the difficulties to be 
 encountered in such an enterprise are by no means insur- 
 mountable ; indeed, it is, I believe, generally conceded that 
 Indian children are more docile and give less trouble to 
 their teachers than do whites. Two services were held at 
 the Mission Church on Sunday, both of which were well 
 attended by Indian congregations. The Bishop and Mr. 
 Walker officiated. I close this brief reference to the con- 
 dition of affairs at Lower Brule by stating that in our inter- 
 views with many of the leading Indians at this agency great ■ ~ 
 interest and satisfaction was expressed by them in the work interest expressed 
 
 riTf T-»'i A •• I'l I'J ^y Indians in the 
 
 of the Indian Rights Association, which, as we explained to work of the Indian 
 them, aims to defend their just interests and to protect them "^'s*"^ a^=°"**'°"- 
 from unlawful oppression. One man, in the course of an 
 address made to Bishop Hare, Mr. Gasman, Rev. Mr. 
 Jacobs, and myself, said: "Last winter, during the time of 
 our trouble, I felt like a man who is lost in a great snow- 
 storm and cannot see which way to turn; but this day, 
 when I see that we have friends who are trying to help us, 
 my heart is very glad, and I take courage." 
 
 On Monday morning, May 28th, we re-crossed the ■ ■• ■• 
 Missouri to Chamberlain, and that afternoon went by 
 wagop to Crow- Creek Reservation, which lies north crowCreekReser- 
 of the town. Just after leaving Chamberlain, we had ''*"™' 
 a striking illustration of the- eagerness with which white 
 
14 
 
 setders anticipate the dismemberment of an Indian re- 
 servation in the broken patches, scattered over the 
 prairie, marking the places where cabins were to be 
 civui^tion among j^jjj and farms laid out. These beginnings were made 
 
 the Indians at Crow " , , 
 
 c«dL. last winter, at a time when it was confidently supposea that 
 
 a part of Crow Creek Reserve was about to be thrown 
 open for setdement. After a drive of about thirty miles 
 through rolling country and fertile valleys, we reached what 
 is called the " Lower Camp " of Crow Creek late in the 
 afternoon. All along the banks of the stream we saw 
 Indian houses and farms, showing most encouraging 
 signs of thrift. The appearance of these settlements 
 was much improved by the presence of picturesque 
 clumps of oak, cottonwood, and other trees, which flour- 
 ished by the water's edge to an extent unusual for the 
 prairie. We were that evening the guests of Dog Back, 
 a Christian Indian, at whose house we passed the night. 
 Dog Back-i house. It ^^g b^jjit of wood, painted white, and had two good- 
 sized rooms on the ground-floor, covered by a large loft. 
 Nothing further could be desired respecting the cleanliness 
 and order of this humble dwelling, which had been vacated 
 by the owner in order to provide for our accommodation. 
 Before night closed in we visited several other Indians liv- 
 ing in the immediate neighborhood, and found their condi- 
 tion equally satisfactory. The house of a man named 
 Standing Bear was a signal instance of the fact that 
 Indians, although very poor according to our standards, 
 may live in cleanliness and comfort. Most of these houses 
 
 Services of Captain were bullt for the people by the Government while Cap- 
 
 Dougherty. • T-, i '^ , . •' , , . ,'; 
 
 tarn Dougherty was their agent, and bear witness to his 
 energy and zeal in their behalf. Rev. H, Burt, the Episco- 
 pal missionary at this place, has also rendered substantial 
 service in laboring for their welfare. During the evening 
 
15 
 
 of our arrival, Bishop Hare held service in Dog Back's 
 house. The room was filled with Indians, — dignified, grave- Meeting hdd wuh 
 faced men, whose citizen clothing and refined demeanor Back'sWusr °' 
 marked how far they had traveled on the road to civiliza- 
 tion. The day following, on our way back to Chamberlain, 
 we visited several houses belonging to men who were 
 present at service the evening previous. One of these was 
 built entirely by the young man whom, with his wife, we 
 found occupying it — he was a full-blooded Indian, twenty-six 
 years of age, named James Williams, who had learned 
 the trade of a carpenter at the agency. It is indeed a 
 pleasure to be able to record, even thus briefly, the pro- 
 gress already made by these people. 
 
 After leaving Crow Creek we returned to Chamber- 
 lain and went thence to Springfield, a small town lying 
 outside the limits of the reservation, upon the Missouri 
 River, where Hope School, one of Bishop Hare's schools ^ope schooi at 
 for Indian boys and girls, is situated. Mrs. Knapp is the 
 principal of this institution, and is assisted by Miss Knight 
 in training the twenty-five to thirty children who have been 
 placed under her care. After a close examination of its 
 work, both upon this and a former occasion, I believe 
 that the management of Hope School is exceptionally good 
 and has produced the most satisfactory results. The English »poic=n in 
 
 .... ^^_^^.^^ 1*1 'I* *-^^ school almost ex- 
 
 children talk h-nglish almost exclusively, even in their out- ciusiveiy. 
 of-door games, although it is not then required of them, 
 and, as a result to a great degree of their contact with the Advantage of con- 
 surrounding whites, show less of that timidity and reserve '*""'* '^'''"='- 
 which is generally characteristic of Indians. At Springfield 
 we had the pleasure of meeting Rev. Dr. Strieby, who, as 
 a representative of the American Board of Missions, accom- 
 panied by Dr. Ward, of the Independent, had come out to 
 visit the various Congregational schools on the reservations. 
 
16 
 
 These gentlemen were present at some of the class exercises 
 
 ■ - ••••-:• of Hope School, and expressed themselves highly gratified 
 
 by the proficiency of the Indian children. I draw atten- 
 
 Progress of the jj^j^ jq qj^^ featurc of thcse exercises, as it seemed to evince 
 
 children at Hope 
 
 School. the facility with which the children, when called upon without 
 
 any previous notice for preparation, expressed themselves 
 in impromptu English sentences. One boy, when requested 
 to give a sentence expressing action, replied : " I should 
 like to sfo to California in order to see sugar made out of 
 beets ;" and another, when asked for a similar sentence, 
 said : " I should like to go to South America to see the 
 Patagonian Indians." Many other answers, equally con- 
 vincing of the progress of the children, were given to 
 similar questions. Several vigorous games of base ball, 
 which I saw contested on the school green, and in which 
 both girls and boys took part with the keenest delight, 
 would have convinced the incredulous that the Indians 
 are quite capable of acquiring a knowledge of at least 
 the sports of their white neighbors. 
 
 san.ee Res«vation. ^^]^[\^ ^t Springfield, I paid sevcral visits to Santee 
 
 Reservation, but three miles distant on the Nebraska side 
 of the Missouri. On my arrival there, I called upon Mr. 
 Lightner, the agent, and from conversation with him, I 
 c'u^d ';!":: learned that some fifty of the Santee Indians have, during 
 the past year, secured patents by which they become indi- 
 vidually endtled to one hundred and sixty acres of land. This 
 privilege, promised them in the sixth article of the Treaty 
 of 1868, upon the fulfillment of certain conditions, which 
 have now for a number of years been complied with by 
 many of them, they have not until recendy been able to 
 Encouragement Ob- secure. This more certain tenure of their land has been 
 
 tained from a perma- . - 
 
 nent tenure of land, the sourcc of great encouragement to them in farming, as it 
 has awakened the hope that the fruit of their labors will not 
 
 secured 
 land 
 
17 
 
 be taken away and given to others. I visited at Santee St. 
 Mary's Boarding-School for Indian girls, which accommo- 
 dates forty children, and the long-established schools under 
 the management of Rev. Alfred Riggs, of the Congregational 
 Church. I believe them to be doing an admirable work. 
 On Saturday, June 2d, an interesting meeting took place in 
 Mr. Riggs' parlor, at which Dr. Strieby, Dr. Ward, together Meeting at Mr. 
 with Mr. Albert K. Smiley, and General Whittlesey, of,'''^^'' ''""■ 
 the Board of Indian Commissioners ; Rev. Mr. Williamson, 
 Presbyterian missionary at Yankton Agency ; Rev. Mr. 
 Foster, Prof Painter, Bishop Hare, Rev. Mr. Fowler, and 
 myself, were present. The Sioux Agreement was the topic 
 for discussion, and to this, at the request of the other 
 gentlemen. Bishop Hare stated lucidly and moderately his 
 objections as it then stood, explaining the desirability of 
 opening the reservation, both as an advantage to Indians 
 and whites, provided the measure were effected consist- 
 ently with the principles of justice. At the request of Paper draw up by 
 those present. Bishop Hare drew up a paper addressed p^tingoyectioJ^J 
 to the general public, stating courteously, in explicit terms, *''^'°"''"'^^'''"™'- 
 the nature of these objections. To this paper it was 
 designed to secure the signatures of all missionaries 
 engaged in Christian work among the Sioux Indians, to 
 whose views upon this important question it gave expres- 
 sion, in order that they might thus, in a united form, 
 ultimately give their opinions publicity through the channels 
 of the press. This paper, after as careful an examination 
 as could then be given it, met with general approval. It 
 has since received the signatures of all those missionaries 
 — at least, so far as I have yet learned — to whom it has 
 been sent. 
 
 It is an encouraging instance of the increased interest 
 which is generally manifesting itself in the welfare of the 
 
18 
 
 Importance ofindiaDs that so large a gathering of gentlemen for the 
 mt1«tot«!!l^ purpose of discussing a question of importance could have 
 ttlTJliar'"""""' been effected at a point so remote as at Santee Reserva- 
 tion. Nothing better could be devised to encourage the 
 Indians themselves, or to throw light on the problem which 
 concerns their future, than the frequent visits of earnest 
 and thoughtful men. 
 
 On Sunday morning, June 3d, I was present at a ser- 
 vice held by Bishop Hare in the litrie Episcopal Church at 
 Springfield. The congregation, which filled the building, 
 was composed of people gathered from the town and its 
 vicinity, together with the Indian children of Hope School. 
 The reverent union in Divine worship of the two races 
 suggested forcibly the thought that no well-grounded 
 reason exists why a similar friendliness should not always 
 Influence of Hope ci^aracterize the relations of whites and Indians. It is a 
 dice against the In- patent fact that the existence of Hope School in the town 
 ^'^' of Springfield has done much to soften the bitter prejudice 
 
 which exists in the minds of many persons living on the 
 frontier. The children of the school have in their turn 
 gained greatly in the facility with which they mingle among 
 whites. On Sunday afternoon, June 3d, I again crossed 
 the river to Santee and was present at a service held in the 
 s^ora,'^ue"^'"""^°"g''^&^tional Mission Church by Mr. Riggs. A large 
 congregation of Indians, both children and grown people, 
 was present, and addresses were made by Rev. Dr. Strieby, 
 General Whitdesey, Professor Painter, and others. That 
 evening I enjoyed the hospitality of St. Mary's School and 
 had an opportunity of observing, as upon many former 
 occasions, its excellent discipline. 
 
 On the morning of the following day, Monday, June 
 4th, although the rain was falling heavily, I met, by appoint-; 
 ment, some twenty-five to thirty of the Santee Indians, 
 
19 
 
 who desired to express their thanks for the efforts in, their 
 behalf of friends in the East during the past winter, and 
 also to bring to my attention a matter which they were 
 desirous of calling to the notice of the Indian Rights Asso- 
 ciation. It seems from their statement, and from that of 
 others with whom I conversed, that the Rev. Mr. Fowler, 
 in the course of his ministerial work among- the Indians, 
 has been in the habit of giving homoeopathic medicines to Question of the dis 
 
 , . - - . . , tribution of medicin 
 
 such persons as requested them, and m certam cases, when among the Indians 
 called, of visiting the sick and prescribing for them. This''''" ""'"°"''- 
 practice was objected to by the resident physician as an 
 interference with his prerogative and an injury to his pro- 
 fessional success. The matter was examined by Mr. 
 Lightner, the agent, and through his representations an 
 order was procured from the Department prohibiting Mr. 
 Fowler from further distribution of medicine. Since then 
 Mr. Fowler has strictly adhered to the order of the Depart- 
 ment and has refused, apparently much to the regret of 
 the Indians, any further use of his remedies among them. 
 The Indians who held conference with me considered the 
 prohibition tyrannical, and maintained that in depriving 
 them of Mr. Fowler's medicines, which had been of great 
 benefit to their wives and children, their rights were 
 invaded and they were compelled to suffer hardship. In 
 my reply to them on this question, I briefly stated that it 
 was a matter of regret to me if they had been forbidden 
 the use of such medicines as had proved beneficial to them, 
 and that I would refer the matter to the judgment of their 
 friends in Philadelphia. With this they were apparently 
 satisfied, and our meeting adjourned. 
 
 On the afternoon of Monday, June 4th, I left San- J™™ey "> Yank- 
 
 1 • ' 1 T-» ■ 1 ***" Agency. 
 
 tee Agency for Springfield, where I jomed Bishop 
 Hare, and in his company proceeded by wagon to 
 
20 
 
 Yankton Agency. Owing to heavy rains and the muddy 
 roads over which we were obliged to travel, we did not 
 reach the agency until Wednesday, June 6th, at midday. 
 Before our arrival, finding ourselves much encumbered by 
 heavy luggage, we procured the services of an Indian, 
 whose log house stood a short distance from the road, to 
 help us on our journey with his team. This man, with 
 whom the Bishop had no previous acquaintance, proved so 
 valuable that he engaged him ultimately to go with us all 
 the way to Pine Ridge, a distance of two hundred and fifty 
 miles. 
 
 As we approached Yankton Agency we passed a 
 number of neat log houses occupied by Indians, and saw 
 that their farms were well cared for. These men, for the 
 most part, belonged to either Mr. Williamson's Presby- 
 terian Mission, or to that of the Episcopal Church under 
 the care of Rev. Mr. Cook. It is, in my judgment, most 
 desirable that these Indians, who have risen above the level 
 of the majority of their people, and have shown a laudable 
 ambition in their efforts toward self-support, should have 
 D«irabiiuyofgiv-pgj.j^anent and individual possession of the land which they 
 
 ing to the Indians in- '- '■ ^ 
 
 dividuaiiy a penna- now occupy. It Is by holding out inducements and afford- 
 
 Dcnt land tenure . . ...... , i-i i 
 
 mg protection to mdividual enterprise and mdustry that 
 the largest and most lasting results may be obtained. 
 During our brief stay at Yankton Agency, we were hospi- 
 tably received and lodged at St. Paul's School, a sub- 
 stantial stone structure, under the charge of Mr. Dawes, 
 as acting principal, where forty Indian boys receive tuition. 
 I had upon this and upon a former occasion ample oppor- 
 tunity to observe the working of this school, and was in 
 every way gratified by what I saw. We were present at 
 exercises held in the school-room which were highly credita- 
 ble, both to the teachers and scholars of the institution. On 
 
21 
 
 the afternoon of our arrival I visited the Government Board- 
 ing-School. 
 
 The present agent, Mr. Ridpath, who has held his »;«■="'«« "'"i' 
 
 . . r 1 which Indian agents 
 
 position tor about one year, from all that I can learn must contend. 
 through reliable sources, has sought to perform his duties 
 creditably and conscientiously, but has had much to con- 
 tend against in the opposition of certain white men upon 
 the reservation. Such men have it in their power to sub- 
 ject the best of agents to the most serious annoyance — 
 so great, indeed, in some cases as to lead men who are 
 earnestly desirous of the welfare of the Indians under their 
 care to abandon their positions in disgust. 
 
 At midday on Wednesday, June 6th, we left Yankton Jou^ey ^ Rose- 
 Agency by wagon for Rosebud, via Fort Randall, a (jjg.''"'^-*^'"'^- 
 tance of one hundred and forty miles. This journey, 
 which lay through a country almost uninhabited, was safely 
 and pleasantly accomplished by us on Sunday, June loth, 
 when we reached Rosebud at nine o'clock in the morning. 
 While at this agency we were the guests of Rev. Mr. 
 Cleveland — the Episcopal missionary — and his wife, who 
 have faithfully maintained during a number of years their 
 Christian work at this wild and inaccessible spot. 
 
 The situation of Rosebud Agency is not a desirable situation of robc- 
 one, as it lies in a basin of sandy hills. The ground in the 
 immediate neighborhood of the agency buildings is un- 
 suited to cultivation ; some three miles distant, however, 
 we saw farms, belonging mostly to half-breeds and white 
 men, which were in a good state of cultivation. 
 
 On Sunday morning we attended service at the Epis- 
 copal Mission Chapel, which was conducted by Bishop 
 Hare and Rev. Mr. Cleveland in the Dakota tongue. The 
 church was well filled with Indians and half-breeds. Another 
 service was held in the afternoon in English, and a third 
 
22 
 
 Earnest efforts ofjn thc evcning in Dakota. After church in the morning, I 
 t^;ufrfTh"ML'!°'met Agent Wright, who subsequently gave me, very court- 
 eously, much interesting information. This gentleman has 
 been in charge of Rosebud Agency during the last twelve 
 months, and is making earnest efforts to advance the work 
 of civilization among the Indians. He has a task of great 
 difficulty, for the condition in which the affairs of the 
 agency were left by his predecessor in office was not such 
 as to facilitate his labors. Mr. Wright has a day-school 
 for Indian children nearly completed ; this will be open by 
 the autumn ; he is also about to begin a boarding-school. I 
 had some conversation with Mr. Wright regarding the re- 
 turned scholars from Carlisle Training School, to whom he 
 has very wisely been encouraged by the Department to 
 give employment at the agency. This, Mr. Wright said, 
 that he would gladly do had he funds at command with 
 which to pay them for their labor. Here is one of the 
 great difficulties with which an agent, no matter how desir- 
 ous he may be of doing good to his people, is obliged to 
 contend. His hands are frequently tied by restrictions 
 which prevent his adopting a measure that the soundest 
 practical wisdom may dictate, while he may be permit- 
 ted to issue far larger supplies of rations than his people 
 X) have any need for, supplies which, by the very lavishness 
 
 of their distribution, are tending to degrade and pauperize 
 those who receive them, and cause the Indians to demand, 
 with very sound logic, " Why should we work if we have 
 now all that we wish to supply our wants?" Unfortunately, 
 any money which may be saved by economy in the issue of 
 rations simply reverts to the Treasury, and cannot be used 
 through those channels where it is most urgently needed. 
 I had some conversation with Mr. Wright regarding the 
 recent order of the Department for the disarming of the 
 
23 
 
 Indian police at the earliest practicable time. His opinion Agent wright-s 
 upon this question coincided with that of other agents with^C^^tf*! 
 whom I have the opportunity of talking, and was well ex- ^'^" p°"'=^- 
 pressed by the following quotation from his letter to the 
 Department upon the subject: "To completely disarm the Extract from Agem 
 Indian police, while a large number of the Indians possess ^"^'^ ''"'"' 
 and at times carry rifles or other long-range guns, would 
 not only degrade the police in the estimation of the whole 
 body of Indians, causing their authority to be ignored and 
 placing malcontents in the ascendency, but would also im- 
 press the police with a want of confidence on the part of 
 the Government in their integrity and loyalty, in which they 
 pride themselves." These words of Agent Wright seem 
 to me wise and just, as I believe any attempt to deprive • 
 the police of their rifles would be followed by just such re- 
 sults as he has pointed out. It is difficult to find any 
 ground justifying the wisdom of this order of the Depart- 
 ment, unless it be maintained that the unsettled condition 
 of affairs in the Southwest, among the Apaches, gave 
 cause for alarm lest the loyalty of the Sioux in the North- 
 west might be at fault. Indeed, this thought was suggested 
 by a shrewd Indian, whom I afterward met at Pine Ridge, 
 who remarked to a friend : " I hear that the Apaches have 
 been killing white men way down in the South ; now, I 
 think that must be why the Great Father wants to take our 
 guns away and is afraid to trust us with ammunition." But 
 there has been no reason to distrust the Sioux Indians as a 
 body, far less the police, who form a small and select part 
 of that body. The Indian police have, in the great majority General trastwonhi- 
 of cases, proved themselves worthy of the trust committed pXe.° 
 to them, have not hesitated, when so ordered, to arrest 
 either white or Indian delinquents, and, in return for a very 
 small compensation (five dollars per month), have rendered 
 
24 
 
 to the Government a full quota of service. To suppose 
 that these men are unworthy of dependence, or that 
 weapons put in their hands will find their way into those of 
 murderers and marauders, is to reason without the facts, and 
 to render contemptible those who are acknowledged rep- 
 resentatives among their people of the authority of the 
 United States, and upon whom the maintenance of the 
 Government's dignity mainly depends. 
 
 I refer to a matter which seems to me one of press- 
 ing importance — the necessity of furnishing to Indians 
 who are striving toward independence and a knowledge 
 of civilized pursuits, farmers and other skilled employees, 
 by whose example and instruction they may be enabled to 
 move rapidly toward self-support. As I have previously 
 remarked, those men in whom a spirit of independence has 
 been awakened move away from the immediate vicinity of 
 the agency and select farms at points distant from it, 
 perhaps twenty, thirty, forty, or even fifty and sixty miles. 
 This is frequently a necessity, in order that good sites for 
 settlement may be obtained, those on the bottom lands 
 near streams, where wood and water are abundant, being 
 most desirable. There are many such settlements at the 
 larger reservations, such as Rosebud and Pine Ridge. At 
 Jr.mTvcTftomX^°s^^"^' f^*" example, there is a settlement of fifty families 
 "B'-'^y- on Oak Creek, thirty miles distant from the agency. On 
 
 the Little White River there is another numbering one 
 hundred families, forty miles distant from the agency. At 
 a point below the forks of the White River, five miles dis- 
 tant from the agency, sixty families have setded. Again, 
 below the mouth of the Black Pipe, forty miles from 
 the agency, there are sixty families, and at the mouth of 
 Pass Creek, sixty miles from the agency, there is a 
 settlement of forty families. Now, all of these people, so 
 
25 
 
 far as their very limited knowledge will permit, are engaged 
 
 in farming. They have repeatedly been urged to do this N=edof&rmersand 
 
 ^ -t /^ .. rii* 1 trained employees. 
 
 by the Government ; it is our professed policy to urge them 
 on the road to self-support, not only out of consideration for 
 their welfare, but for our own, so that ultimately the burden 
 of their maintenance may be lifted from our shoulders. Is 
 it not most desirable that a competent white farmer should 
 be stationed in each of these villages or settlements for 
 the instruction and encouragement of the Indians in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, which they have already sincerely, though 
 feebly, begun ? Such men, I am convinced, would be of 
 the greatest value to the cause of Indian civilization ; they 
 should be made directly responsible to the agent; it should 
 be their duty to induce such Indians as had chosen spots 
 for settlement, and had received help from Government, in 
 the erection of houses, planting, fencing, etc., to locate per- 
 manently, and not to wander from place to place ; also, to 
 report all cases of aggression upon the part of other 
 Indians, who now not unfrequently dispossess their less 
 resolute fellows of land which they have already cultivated 
 and to which they are justly entided. At present there is ^5^°°^^ ™"„^"jf„; 
 but one farmer attached to an agency, whose duties are an agency, 
 such as to render it impossible for him to go far beyond 
 the agency buildings and the agency farm. How is it 
 possible for him, then, to give personal attention to the 
 needs of many hundred families who are living in villages 
 thirty to sixty miles distant ? This is one of the practical 
 and pressing needs of Rosebud Agency, and one upon 
 which present expenditure would insure future economy. 
 With the offer of such advantages, I believe that it would 
 not be difficult to persuade the Indians to accept a gradual 
 diminution of their supply of rations. 
 
 While at Rosebud, I took occasion to converse with 
 
26 
 
 Rev. Mr. Cleveland, who is a man of caution and judg- 
 ment, regarding the feeling of the Indians belonging to 
 this agency concerning the Sioux Agreement and the ces- 
 sion of the eleven million acres of land which it proposed. 
 Mr. Cleveland, who has a thorough understanding of the 
 Dakota tongue, informed me that he was not present at the 
 conference of the Commissioners with the Indians when 
 at the agency, as he had received no invitation to that 
 effect, but that he felt satisfied as a result of his conversa- 
 tions with those who were there that the Indians failed to 
 understand that by signing the agreement they were to re- 
 linquish a part of their territory. 
 
 Idea of the Indians The idea whlch seemed to be in the minds of those 
 theComi^iOT" ""^Indians with whom I conversed at Rosebud and Pine Ridge 
 Agencies, of the object of the agreement, as set forth by 
 the Commissioners, was that it designed to separate the 
 great Sioux Reservation into a number of smaller reserves, 
 each reserve to have separate limits and to be independent 
 of the others, so that in the case of future dealings with 
 the Indians application need not be made to the whole 
 Sioux nation, but only to the individual bands. 
 
 Conversation with Qu Tuesday, June 1 2th, I had a long conversation 
 with White Thunder, one of the leading chiefs of the 
 Upper Brule or Spotted-tail Indians, who called upon me 
 at Mr, Cleveland's house. He said, among other things, 
 that when the Commissioners first came to Rosebud 
 Agency they held a council with the Indians there, and 
 called upon him to define the limits of the reservation, 
 and enjoined upon him to remember that he was in the 
 presence of the Great Spirit in so doing. In replying. 
 White Thunder told the gentlemen of the Commission 
 that he would define the limits of the reservation if they 
 for their part would remember that they were also in the 
 
 Wiite Thunder. 
 
27 
 
 presence of the Great Spirit and would respect his defini- 
 tion. He then proceeded to define the Hmits of the whole 
 Sioux reserve and not those of the Upper Brule Indians 
 individually, saying that all that country was the property 
 of the Sioux nation, as the President had admitted to him, 
 and that he was unwilling to sell any of it. It was 
 with the understanding that none of the land was to be 
 sold that White Thunder gave his signature and the 
 people after him. 
 
 On the afternoon of the same day, accompanied by joumey to pine 
 several Indians connected with the Episcopal Church, ^e^"'8='^sency. 
 started on our journey to Pine Ridge, a distance of over one 
 hundred miles, reaching Medicine Root Creek, one of the 
 outlying camps of the agency, on Thursday afternoon, June 
 14th. Here we found quite a large settlement of Indians 
 belonging to the Ogallala band of Sioux, and a substantial 
 day-schoolhouse, built of logs, such as Dr. McGillycuddy Day-schooihouse, 
 has erected in nearly every village or camp of Pine Ridge ernmem al MeaJne 
 Agency. This house is built in the form of the capital ^°°' ^"'''■ 
 letter "T," and the main room, which represents the 
 shaft of the letter, being used for school purposes, while 
 those in the rear, which represent the cross, are occupied 
 by Miss Leigh. This lady has done long and faithful work 
 in the mission field, and this building has been partially 
 placed under her charge. That evening the Bishop held 
 service in the school-room, which was crowded with Indians 
 of both sexes and all ages. Many of these, who are among 
 the wildest people to be found anywhere upon the great 
 Sioux reserve, were dressed in the most fantastic and pic- 
 turesque costumes imaginable. At the conclusion of Nam« of Indian 
 
 A " , boys taken among the 
 
 this service, I talked with an Indian named "Amencausignatures to the 
 Horse," who told me that the official interpreter of the s-,oux^'°'"''*^"°'"'"'' 
 Commission (who on behalf of that body had recently 
 
28 
 
 visited Pine Ridge to obtain the signature of three-fourths 
 of the male adult Indians, as required by the treaty of 
 1868) had received to the agreement the names of boys, 
 many of whom were six and seven years of age. This 
 simply means that these boys touched their fingers to the 
 pen, as in the case even of adults who are unable to write, 
 and that their names were then placed upon paper. The 
 following morning, Friday, June 15th, Miss Leigh stated 
 that when the signatures were taken at this camp by the 
 The official inter- official interpreter of the Commission, the names of boys, 
 
 preter at Medicine -^ 
 
 Rootcreek. presumably of the ages of twelve or thirteen years, were 
 recorded as well as those of adult males. 
 
 The. Indians at Medicine Root are engaged in farm- 
 ing on a small scale. Close to the cabins or tepees we 
 saw their little fields of broken ground inclosed with 
 wire fencing, and guarded in most cases by a little streamer 
 of colored calico to propitiate evil spirits. Joseph Mar- 
 shall, a half-breed, holds the position of Government 
 teacher at the day-school, where between thirty and forty 
 children receive tuition. He and Miss Leigh, who is occu- 
 pied in camp-visiting, teaching, etc., are rendering an im- 
 portant service to these hitherto neglected people. 
 Visit to Porcupine Qn Friday morning we left Medicine Root, and by 
 noon reached Porcupine Tail Creek, another village 
 belonging to Pine Ridge Reservation. Here we found 
 another day-school similar in construction to that which I 
 have already described. It is under the care of Mr. Pugh, 
 who, with his half-breed wife and two adopted children, 
 occupies the rear of the building. We found the school 
 filled with Indian boys and girls, wild and unkempt in their 
 appearance, and who might have been improved by the 
 application of soap and water, but who were, nevertheless, 
 under the most perfect discipline and showed a remarkable 
 
 Tail Creelc. 
 
] n the Wounded 
 
 29 
 
 proficiency in simple studies. These children had been Day-schooi. 
 but a few months under instruction. Mr. Pugh's success 
 in his work is deserving of the highest credit. We 
 accepted this gentleman's hospitable invitation to dine 
 with him at noon. The meal prepared by his wife was as 
 well-cooked and served as one could have desired. I 
 venture to note such details as indicative of the fact that 
 Indian women are not incapable of becoming good house- 
 wives. In the afternoon we reached No Flesh's camp, no rush's camp, 
 ten miles distant, on Wounded Knee Creek, and found Knee'*" 
 there another school-house under the care of Rev. Amos 
 Ross, an Indian, who is a clergyman of the Episcopal 
 Church. This also was erected by Dr. McGillycuddy at 
 Government expense. Mr. Ross accompanied us the same 
 evening to Red Dog's camp, several miles further upon 
 the Wounded Knee Creek, where we were comfortably 
 provided for through the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Kocer, 
 teachers of the Government school at that place. That 
 evening Bishop Hare held a service in the school-room, 
 which was well attended by Indians. After the service was 
 concluded I conversed with Mr. Ross regarding the recent 
 visit of the official interpreter of the Sioux Commission to 
 the various camps or villages on Pine Ridge Reservation. 
 Mr. Ross told me that at St. Andrew's Station (No Flesh, 
 camp), where the Government school under his charge is«"' f"°" °f *= 
 
 ^/' ^ ^ official interpreter of 
 
 located, the official interpreter met the Indians on Friday, the sioux commis- 
 
 , ^ , . . , . sion at No Flesh' 
 
 April 20th, 1883, for the purpose of obtammg the signa-camp. 
 tures of three-fourths of the male adult Indians to the 
 agreement, to which the signatures of the chiefs and head 
 men were obtained during the past winter. Mr. Ross also 
 informed me that he was present during this interview and 
 that the official interpreter receiyed the names of many 
 children, as well as those of adult males, to the paper which 
 
 Mr. Ross' state- 
 ' ment regarding re- 
 
30 
 
 Th. .Kiutu» ofwas presented for signatures. All the boys who attend 
 ^J^" " *'Mr. Ross' school signed with the exception of his own son, 
 a lad of some seven years. Those who signed touched 
 their fingers to the pen by which their names were re- 
 corded. Mr. Ross asked the interpreter whether he 
 thought it right to take the children's names, but to this 
 question the interpreter made no reply. Subsequently Mr. 
 Ross conversed with the interpreter of the Commission, at 
 Pine Ridge Agency, upon the same subject, when the latter 
 admitted, upon consulting a "law book," according to Mr. 
 Ross' statement, that the names of those persons under 
 eighteen years should not be counted upon the list, and 
 added that he would see that they were separated from 
 those of the adult males. On the morning of June 1 6th, 
 Bishop Hare and I held a conversation with Red Dog, 
 an amiable and complacent person, but one who pos- 
 sesses little influence among his people, owing probably 
 Red Dogs state- to hls cxtremcly cautious and politic disposition. Red 
 rcti'onTt'he"L«!t)og stated that when the official interpreter of the Com- 
 prrtcr of the siouxj^jggjQ^ ^^g recently at his village, upon Wounded Knee 
 
 ConunissioD. ' o ' x 
 
 Creek, in council with the Indians, he had, with his right 
 Promise to pvej^^j^j ralsed to heaven, sworn that his promise to give to the 
 
 the Ogallalas an ad- ' ^ O 
 
 dition.1 strip of land Ogallalas au additional strip of land in Nebraska was true. 
 
 inNcbmslca. ° i i i i . s i 
 
 signaiuresofchii- The people had then signed the agreement, and among 
 
 dren taken. them many boys. When we asked whether he and his 
 
 people were aware that by signing the agreement they 
 
 were relinquishing a large strip of country, he replied that 
 
 they were not. In speaking of another matter. Red 
 
 Dog said that he had some fault to find with Agent 
 
 en/ourageLe*^t' ",' McGlllycuddy, because he was permitting young men to 
 
 young men. gfow up and bccome so large as to hide him from the 
 
 agent's sight, referring to the growing importance of the 
 
 police force, which is composed of young men, and has 
 
31 
 
 thus awakened, in some instances, the jealousy of the 
 chiefs. These words seemed to us very suggestive of 
 one of the excellent features in Dr. McGillycuddy's 
 administration ; he has found that a rapid advance 
 toward civilization among the Indians could only be 
 accomplished by giving encouragement to active young 
 men, who were anxious for improvement and were willing 
 to work, and by neglecting tribal theories which existed for 
 the benefit of chiefs at the expense of the general welfare 
 of the people. Mr. Kocer, in the brief conversation that I ^' ^'"'"'.' ='*!=- 
 
 A ^ ' ment regarding sig- 
 
 held with him before our departure, asked me whether I "f^'^'s °f ^°y^ '° 
 thought that the names of children should have been taken 
 upon the list of those who signed the agreement. I replied 
 that it did not seem to me proper this should have been 
 done, since the treaty of 1868 required the names of three- 
 fourths of the male adults, and not of children, who were 
 naturally incapable of forming an opinion of the question at 
 issue and whose signatures would consequently be value- 
 less. Mr. Kocer replied this was what he had thought 
 when he saw the children's names taken, but that he had 
 feared to say anything lest he should lose his position. 
 
 That morning we retraced our steps to Mr. Ross' 
 school at No Flesh's Camp, where the Bishop held ser- 
 vice at noon. Here we had an opportunity of conversing statemem of police- 
 
 ■*■ ^ ^ men and other In- 
 
 with a number of Indians, four of whom belonged to the dians regarding their 
 
 _ - * '1 , understanding of the 
 
 police force. The statements of these men were similar to sioux Agreement. 
 those which had already been made to us by Mr. Ross, 
 Mr. Kocer, Red Dog, and others. They said that ^'^^Y ^"1°^ ^^^ ''" 
 had been promised an additional strip of land in Nebraska 
 upon signing the agreement, but did not understand that 
 the agreement provided for the cession of any of their 
 present territory. While at St. Andrew's Station I pro- 
 cured a list of the names of those children who attended 
 
32 
 
 the Government day-school and whose signatures were 
 taken. This list is in my possession. The ages of the 
 boys who signed, of whom there were eighteen, are from 
 seven to fifteen years. 
 Condition of Pint yj^g g evenincf (Saturday, June 1 6th) we reached 
 
 Ridge Reservation. e>\ ,.,1 -ll 
 
 Pine Ridge Agency, where I was hospitably entertamed by 
 Agent McGillycuddy, at whose house I resided during the 
 remainder of my stay upon the reservation. The agency 
 buildings, consisting of the agent's office, store houses, 
 ^ traders' stores, saw-mill, etc., lie in the centre of a green 
 
 plateau, intersected by the White Clay Creek and sur- 
 rounded by low hills. The most perfect order, as I had 
 frequent opportunity to observe, existed everywhere, and 
 the agency itself, as seen from the burying-ground which 
 crowns the summit of a neighboring hill, looked more like 
 a peaceful white village than a camp of wild Indians, who 
 but a few months ago were supposed to be upon the eve 
 of a serious revolt. The following day, Sunday, June 17th, 
 I attended service, held in the Dakota tongue, at the Epis- 
 copal Mission Chapel. Bishop Hare and Rev. John Robin- 
 son officiated, and a crowded congregation of Indians and 
 Half-Breeds was present. The Holy Communion was also 
 celebrated, and among those who participated was C-aptain 
 Sword, of the Indian Police. In the afternoon a second 
 service was held in Dakota, and at night a third in English. 
 Agency building.. O" thc following momlng, Monday, June i8th, I in- 
 
 spected the saw-mill, issue-house, stable, store-rooms, etc., 
 and found everything in the best working order. I found 
 Indians employed in the various departments, under the direc- 
 tion of white men. The stable is entirely under the care of 
 Indians. It accommodates sixteen horses and mules, which 
 are cared for by two men. Dr. McGillycuddy has built for 
 the use of the agency, over a well fifty feet in depth, a tank 
 
33 
 
 which is thirty-two feet above the ground. This has a 
 capacity of seventeen thousand gallons. To this is at- 
 tached one hundred and fifty feet of hose, to be used in 
 case of fire. From the tank water is distributed through 
 three thousand feet of water-main. 
 
 It is difficult to convey any adequate idea of the per- 
 fect order and cleanliness everywhere observable at Pine 
 Ridge Agency; for which I believe the fullest credit is 
 due to Dr. McGillycuddy. His economy and business Economy and busi- 
 ability have been demonstrated by the fact that during the ^e^u " ° 
 four years of his administration he has saved the Govern- 
 ment in the issue of rations upward of two hundred thou- 
 sand dollars, and yet no complaints of hunger have been 
 made by the Ogallalas. It may be asked : " How was this 
 reduction possible?" The agent, in visiting among the 
 people, felt a curiosity to discover whether the supplies 
 which he was authorized to issue to them so abundantly 
 were all put to actual use. To his surprise, he found pro- overissue of »- 
 visions of all sorts — flour, bacon, sugar, coffee, etc. — "°"' 
 stowed in the lodges and actually spoiling from being kept 
 so long. He saw plainly that the Indians were receiving 
 far more than they could consume. In addition, he found 
 that white men on and near the reservation were, like para- 
 sites, feeding upon their excess ; that the Indians would sell 
 to them, for example, a sack of flour worth four dollars and 
 fifty cents for fifty cents. He then began a gradual and 
 steady diminution in the issue of rations, and ultimately 
 succeeded in saving to the Government the large sum 
 which I have previously specified. This action occasioned 
 no dissatisfaction among the Indians, although it did among 
 whites, who were thus deprived of an easy way of gaining 
 their daily bread. Unfortunately, the large sum saved 
 through Dr, McGillycuddy's economy could not be made 
 
34 
 
 Need ofskiurd em- available to the Indian service in securing a larger force of 
 '"""'* skilled employees for the different villages belonging to the 
 
 agency — -a need which is at present making itself keenly 
 felt. This is owing to the fact that there is an act of Con- 
 gress which forbids the expenditure of a greater sum than 
 ten thousand dollars in the payment of employees at any 
 one agency. Thus, Pine Ridge, with its eight thousand 
 Indians, is granted a lavish expenditure in that which tends 
 to pauperize its people, while restrained by law from 
 securing the means to render them speedily the power of 
 self-support. It seems most unfortunate that large and 
 important agencies, such as Rosebud and Pine Ridge, each 
 with a population of from seven to eight thousand Indians, 
 should be permitted to expend no larger a sum for the 
 employment of trained employees than is granted to agen- 
 cies with but a few hundred residents. 
 
 On Monday afternoon I was obliged, with much re- 
 gret, to say farewell to Bishop Hare and several of our 
 Indian companions with whom I had journeyed for 
 nearly three hundred miles over the uninhabited prairie — 
 the Bishop and his friends to return to Rosebud and 
 thence to Springfield, while I had determined to spend a 
 few days longer at Pine Ridge in order to gain additional 
 information at that important agency, I am under very 
 deep obligations to Bishop Hare, not only for the facilities 
 which he afforded me in visiting the different agencies 
 almost free of expense, but also for much valuable informa- 
 tion concerning Indian matters which he so freely put at my 
 disposal. It is not beyond the literal truth to add that in 
 him the Dakotas have a wise, unselfish, and devoted friend, 
 and that of such they stand in need. 
 EttcicDcy of the Xhc efficiency and discipline of the Indian police at 
 
 Indian police. tt r* • j • 
 
 Pme Ridge is worthy of the highest praise and is sufficient 
 
35 
 
 to convince a thoughtful observer 'of the latent capabilities 
 of the people from whom such a force has been recruited, 
 and of the importance of giving the men who compose it a 
 just compensation for their services. Each man receives 
 but five dollars per month for the performance of duties 
 which are certainly as arduous as those of a private in the 
 army, whose pay is nearly three times greater. I have 
 seen the Indian police of Pine Ridge on duty at the various 
 villages (for the order of which they are responsible), at the 
 agency performing guard duty, or engaging in the exercises 
 of infantry and cavalry drill, at the mess-table, or when 
 free to amuse themselves seated or lying upon the grass and 
 chatting with each other, or when at church engaged in 
 reverent worship ; and at all times their behavior was not 
 such as one might suppose characteristic of barbarians, but 
 of dignified and reliable men. Their action in resolutely sup- 
 porting Agent McGillycuddy, during the trouble which Loyaity of the in- 
 occurred last summer between him and Red Cloud, is strong f^^^p°';^=;^"""«' '"- 
 proof of their loyalty to the Government and of the reliance 
 which may be placed upon them to maintain its authority 
 upon the reservation. To this difficulty, which has since 
 happily subsided, but which has been made the ground- 
 work of the most pertinacious attack upon the agent, 
 I would now briefly refer. It is, no doubt, known to many 
 that all supplies which are needed at the agency are brought 
 thither in wagons by Indian freighters, a distance of one hun- 
 dred and nineteen miles, from Fort Niobrara or Valentine, 
 the present terminus of the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad. 
 Chief Red Cloud, who was strongly influenced by certain Action of Red 
 white men upon the reservation, who had their own pur- 
 pose to serve, was anxious that supplies should no longer be 
 brought from Fort Niobrara, but from a point on the Mis- 
 souri River, twice the distance from the agency as in former 
 
36 
 
 times. In order to effect this change, he issued an order 
 on the loth of August, 1882, forbidding any Indian to start 
 for supplies toward Fort Niobrara, threatening to kill the 
 horses of those who ventured to disobey. This act of de- 
 fiance, of course, was a direct challenge, not only to the 
 authority of the agent, but also to that of the United States. 
 Action of the ag=n. Dr. McGlUycuddy then stopped the issue of coffee, bacon, 
 m^.»ppi»g issue of^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ bloclcade should be removed. This 
 
 stoppage, not of the necessities but of the luxuries of liv- 
 ing, fell almost entirely upon Red Cloud and those inter- 
 ested and active in his support, as the Indians living at 
 distant villages and removed from this Chief's influence 
 had already received their rations and returned to their 
 
 Defiant attitude of homes. In couscqucnce of this order. Red Cloud went 
 beyond the limits of the reservation into the State of Ne- 
 braska, there held a council upon the following Sunday 
 with such Indians as were in sympathy with him, and then 
 issued his threat to the United States Government to the 
 effect that if Agent McGillycuddy were not removed by 
 the authorities within sixty days he would be put off the 
 reservation forcibly by the Indians themselves. This high- 
 handed and unwarrantable proceeding upon the part of Red 
 Cloud, although unsupported by the majority of the peo- 
 ple, was regarded by many whites, both upon the reser- 
 vation and beyond it, as the precursor of war, and the pub- 
 lic press announced the day close at hand which would 
 witness three thousand Sioux warriors under arms and the 
 
 Loyalty to the Gov- devastation of the frontier settlements. On the following 
 ernmento eo '"^ 'j'^u r sday thc agcnt called a council of the chiefs, nearly 
 all of whom were present; these men unanimously ex- 
 pressed themselves as adverse to the action of Red Cloud, 
 said that they had no occasion for complaint, and hence were 
 adverse to war and desirous of settling the trouble by 
 
37 
 
 themselves without calling upon the military. The police, 
 with the exception of one man, who belonged to Red 
 Cloud's band and resigned his position at the time of the 
 trouble, remained loyal to the authority of the agent. Red Arrest of Red cioud 
 
 ^-r-t 1 ,111 1' n t 1 ^y the Indian police. 
 
 Lloud was arrested by the police, and subsequently re- 
 leased upon promise of good behavior. Since then no 
 further trouble has occurred and Red Cloud has showed 
 no hostility to Agent McGillycuddy. Upon a recent visit 
 which this Chief paid to the Indian Department at Wash- 
 ington the gift of a pair of horses and a wagon was prom- 
 ised him. This promise at the time of my visit to Pine 
 Ridge Agency had been fulfilled. Much pardonable surprise 
 was expressed upon the part of other chiefs and many ques- 
 tions asked of the agent as to why a man who had been en- 
 gaged in a direct act of rebellion against the Government 
 should be rewarded for that act, while those who had remained 
 firm in their allegiance should receive , nothing. One man 
 remarked to the agent with a smile, "My father, I too 
 should like to have a pair of horses and a wagon ; perhaps 
 if I make trouble and kill somebody the Great Father will 
 send them to me!" 
 
 On Wednesday morning, June 20th, I drove out with 
 Dr. McGillycuddy along the Big White Clay Creek to the 
 camp of Black- War-Bonnet, one of the Ogallala chiefs. 
 Many of the Indians resident at this village were living in 
 log houses, some of which they had themselves erected. 
 One of these I remarked as being especially well built, 
 supposing that it had been erected by a white man, but I 
 discovered, to my surprise, that one of the Indian police, 
 Bear-Runs-Through-the- Woods by name, who was living 
 in it with his family, had built it by his own unaided labor. 
 The interior was comfortably furnished and was very neat 
 and clean. Such facts serve to show the rapid improve- 
 
38 
 
 ment of which these people are capable when under favor- 
 able influences and guided by an efficient head, 
 statemmtsofcap- Q^ Wedncsdav aftemoon I had a conversation with 
 
 taio Sword and Wil- ^ 1- 1 • 1 ITT'll' 
 
 liam GariKtt regard- Captain Swofd, of the Indian police, also with William 
 
 Ing sienatuKa to the , , * .^^ • . ^ ^ ^1 _ 
 
 agreenient. Gamett, who IS the Government interpreter at the agency, 
 
 regarding the signatures taken to the Sioux Agreement. 
 The former told me that he had accompanied the official 
 interpreter of the Sioux Commission in his visits to the 
 various camps and villages of Pine Ridge Agency for the 
 purpose of gaining signatures to the agreement. Sword 
 admitted that the names of children were taken at the dif- 
 ferent villages upon the same list that received the names 
 of adults, but that the official interpreter of the Sioux Com- 
 mission upon his return to the agency had distinguished 
 the former from the latter by marking the boys' names 
 with a cross. This statement harmonized substantially 
 with that which Mr. Ross made to me upon a previous 
 occasion, and to which I have already referred. At my 
 Duplicate copy of fequest Sword showed me what I understood to be a dupli- 
 
 ii« of signatures to ^^^^ ^^^^ gf jj^g Original paper bearing the signatures of 
 
 the agreement. x^ .* o r i o o 
 
 the Indians to the agreement, the names in Dakota, and 
 not their English translations, being given. On some 
 pages of this list many names were distinguished by a 
 cross opposite them upon the left side of the page. I saw no 
 explanatory statement stating what this cross was intended 
 to denote. On the right side of the page each name was 
 numbered in regular order, i, 2, 3, 4, etc. I noticed that 
 the names marked with a cross counted the same as those 
 not so marked. Captain Sword did not understand that 
 by signing the agreement the people were resigning a part 
 Captain swoid'sof their territory, but thought that its purpose was to give 
 
 undentanding of the ^ ...... . . , , . ^^ ^ . 
 
 agreement. Separate and individual reservations to the different Sioux 
 
 tribes, and to allot land in severalty to the members of the 
 
39 
 
 tribes. This idea seemed to be so firmly impressed upon 
 his mind that upon one occasion, just before I left the 
 agency, he requested an interview with me and explained 
 that he did not Hke what I was trying to do, as he had 
 learned from Red Cloud that I had come out to upset the 
 treaty, which he thought would be of great benefit to his 
 people. When I asked him to tell me what his understand- 
 ing of the treaty was, he expressed simply the thought 
 which I have given above, not making the slightest allusion 
 to the cession of any land. My explanation of what I con- 
 sidered desirable, and what undesirable, in the treaty as it 
 really existed, seemed to him perfectly satisfactory. Wil- 
 liam Garnett informed me upon two occasions, in answer important state- 
 to questions I put to him, that at the time when the Com-^^^'^^"^'^^'^""^'- 
 missioners visited the agency last winter to obtain the con- 
 sent of the Indians to the agreement he acted as inter- 
 preter, and no word had been spoken to the Indians, through 
 his interpretation, regarding the cession of any land from 
 the Great Sioux Reserve. He added that if any such 
 matter had been discussed with them it was not at a time 
 when he was present. This brings to a close all statements 
 which I have to report concerning the Sioux Agreement^ 
 the explanations of its terms to the people who are so 
 deeply affected by them, and the methods by which signa- 
 tures have recently been obtained at Pine Ridge Agency 
 to that document. I have endeavored to report with ex- 
 actness and without making comments or drawing deduc- 
 tions of my own, such information as was brought to me 
 or elicited by questions on my part from reliable witnesses. 
 It will be observed that this information was gained at 
 points widely separated from each other and from persons 
 of varied occupation and rank in life. 
 
 On Thursday, June 21st, the day before that of my de- 
 
40 
 
 parture from Pine Ridge Agency, a number of Indians 
 otnah. dance, aslccd pcrmission of Dr. McGillycuddy to have the Omaha 
 dance in front of the agency. This was granted them, and 
 some time after thirty of forty young men, their bodies 
 semi-nude and ornamented in a curious manner with paint, 
 feathers, and the fur of wild animals, approached the 
 Agent's office, and formed a circle about the flag-staff. 
 Their movements were watched with close attention by a 
 large concourse of Indians^ as they danced to the monoto- 
 nous sound of a great drum, their heads shaking and their 
 bodies quivering with a peculiar vibratory motion. The 
 frequency of these dances is gradually decreasing, and the 
 growth of industry among the people will doubtless soon 
 do away with them altogether. 
 
 atp"^Ridgf """ The need of more than one physician is strongly felt 
 at Pine Ridge Agency, as might readily be imagined would 
 be the case in a community numbering between seven 
 thousand and eight thousand people, whose villages are 
 widely separated from one another. The Indians have a 
 deep reverence for the physician's skill, and money spent in 
 supplying this great need would not only tend greatly to 
 relieve suffering among these people, but would likewise 
 open fresh paths for the advance of civilization. 
 
 On Friday, June 22d, I bade farewell to Pine Ridge 
 Agency, and started on my three days' journey to Valentine, 
 where I arrived upon the following Sunday afternoon and 
 took the train for the East. 
 
 vauo^'""""* ''^' Before closing this report of my journey in the Indian 
 country, may I be permitted to offer a few suggestions re- 
 garding the important question to which my observations 
 were exclusively given — the solution of the Iqdian Pro- 
 blem ? My experience among the Sioux has fully con- 
 vinced me that there is no reason why this large and 
 
41 
 
 important body of Indians should not, within a compara- 
 tively short period of time, become a civilized and self- 
 supporting people. But if the citizens of the United States 
 would see this desirable result attained they must demand 
 the enforcement of a policy both wise and continuous. If 
 we indeed propose to give to the Indians the benefits of 
 education, a permanent tenure of land, and the protection 
 of civil law, we must adhere more rigorously to our prom- 
 ises in the future than we have done in the past. Any 
 system by which a people just emerging from barbarism 
 are at one time urged bj' a great Government to apply 
 themselves to agriculture in order to obtain protection and 
 secure a permanent hold upon the soil, and in a few years 
 are threatened with a summary removal from their lands, 
 will hardly foster the rapid advance of civilization or in- 
 spire confidence in National promises. The flippant 
 skepticism regarding the possibility of civilizing the Indian, 
 and the spirit of ridicule which would brand all efforts in his 
 behalf as visionary and fanatical, are the cause of much of our 
 National indifference toward the elevation of this conquered 
 race and the vacillation which has so far characterized our 
 feeble attempts to educate its members. . A more earnest Necessity for an 
 
 .,'. .,.. ri- T ■ ir awakening of public 
 
 and mtelligent leelmg must manifest itselt among our peo- sentiment, 
 pie at large and assert its power in Congress. This is the 
 first great object to be attained — the awakening of public 
 sentiment. This can be accomplished only through an 
 efificent and organized body, such as the Indian Rights Asso- 
 ciation, and by the systematic circulation of reliable infor- 
 mation. 
 
 To maintain men of ability and integrity in the position importance of main- 
 
 •^ . taining good agents. 
 
 of Indian agents is a matter of the utmost importance. 
 The agent and reservation system, with its many imperfec- 
 tions, is necessary as a temporary training-school or nursery 
 
42 
 
 by which the Indian, in as short a time as possible, may be 
 fitted for the responsibility and independence of manhood. 
 The agent may render the most valuable service, or the 
 reverse, in accomplishing this result. Such a work as Dr. 
 McGillycuddy has carried on at Pine Ridge, I believe, could 
 have been effected in no other way. To maintain such men 
 at their posts and to shield them from the machinations of 
 unscrupulous schemers, who regard the Indian as their 
 legitimate prey, is a work of absolute necessity. 
 The power of the The powcr of the agent is at present too great and 
 agent too great. g^Q^ifj j^g limited by the introduction of law upon reserva- 
 tions. The Indian is at present almost completely at the 
 mercy of his caprice or tyranny should he be an unjust or 
 hot-tempered man. 
 Necessity for a de- Therc should bc a Steady and systematic decrease in 
 
 crease in issue ofra- p.. ii* 'l 
 
 tions, and increase in the amount of rations issued and an mcrease m the num- 
 ^i^yees° '""^ b^r of trained employees and teachers upon the reserva- 
 tions. One farmer, it may be readily understood, whose 
 whole time is employed in the agency garden, can hardly be 
 expected to render much assistance to seven thousand or 
 eight thousand Indians, some of whom live forty or fifty 
 miles from the agency. 
 schooUonandnear Thcre should be a rapid increase of good schools on 
 
 the reservations , 11 • i t-» -n i 
 
 needed. aud near the reservations as well as in the East. Both 
 
 day-schools and boarding-schools are greatly needed. 
 A clear knowledge J would add, in conclusion, that, in my own opinion, an 
 
 of Indian affairs on, 1 • 1 1 1 c r 1 ..... /■ 1 t !• 
 
 the part of intelligent important work in behalf of the civilization of the Indian 
 
 citizens necessary to ^ l*llii*> 1 1 r re • 
 
 asoiuuonoftheprob-can be accomphshed by bringing the actual state of arlairs 
 '""■ now existing upon the reservations to the knowledge of the 
 
 public. It has been principally due to the fact of their re- 
 moteness and isolation that Indian reservations have, in 
 the past, been the scenes of so many scandals, and the term 
 "Indian Agent" has been so suggestive of official corrup- 
 
43 
 
 tion. The light of truth and the air of pubhc opinion will 
 prove powerful disinfectants in purifying the ill odor which 
 has so long hung about the Indian service. Good agents 
 will receive the support which heretofore they have almost 
 universally failed to get, and those who are incompetent, or 
 unfaithful in the performance of their duty will be sub- 
 jected to a scrutiny that they can ill afford to stand. The 
 reforms which will alone render an honorable solution of 
 the Indian problem possible must be based upon the inter- 
 est and self-sacrifice of the best men and women in the 
 land. Until from them shall flow a powerful and steadily in- 
 creasing influence upon this vexed question and upon the 
 legislation which affects it, the work of converting the savage 
 Indian into a self supporting citizen, and of giving him the 
 protection which the law vouchsafes to all citizens, cannot 
 be fully performed. 
 
 HERBERT WELSH, 
 
 Sec. Indian Rights Association. 
 Germantown, Phila., October, 1883. 
 
INDEX TD STilTEMENTS 
 
 RELATING TO THB 
 
 SIOUX COMMISSION 
 
 The Sioux Commission was appointed under the provisions of the 
 Act of August 7th, 1882, to treat with the Sioux Indians for a modification 
 of their existing treaties. Its main objectwas to break up the Great Sioux 
 Reserve into separate and independent reservations and to induce the 
 Indians to cede about 11,000,000 acres of land to the United States for 
 white settlement. 
 
 1. Meeting held with Indians at Cheyenne River Agency. State- 
 ments of Bull Eagle and others to the effect that intimidation 
 was used to induce the Indians to sign the agreement, . ■ 6» 7 
 
 2. Meeting held with representative men of Pierre, at which Bishop 
 Hare explains objections of the friends of the Indians to some 
 
 of the provisions of the agreement, 8,9,10 
 
 3. Alarm excited at Lower Brul6 Agency by the propositions of the 
 Sioux Commissioners, " 
 
 4. Refusal of the Lower Brul6 Indians to sign the agreement, and 
 reasons for the same, 1 1 
 
 5. Agent Parkhurst's letter, 12 
 
 6. Meeting held at the house of Rev. Thomas Riggs for considera- 
 tion of the Sioux Agreement, 17 
 
 7. Statement of White Thunder regarding the action of the Com- 
 missioners at Rosebud Agency, 26 
 
 45 
 
46 
 
 8. Statement of American Horse at Medicine Root Creek, Pine 
 
 Ridge Agency, concerning signatures of boys to the Sioux 
 Agreement, 27 
 
 9. Statement of Miss Leigh regarding signatures of boys being 
 taken to the agreement by the official interpreter of the Com- 
 mission, 28 
 
 10. Statement of Rev. Amos Ross regarding signatures of boys, . 30 
 
 11. Statement of Red Dog as to boys' signatures and the promise 
 upon the part of the official interpreter to the Indians of a strip 
 
 of land in Nebraska, 30 
 
 12. Mr. Kocer's statement regarding signatures of boys to the agree- 
 ment, . 31 
 
 13. Statement of policemen and other Indians concerning their 
 understanding of the agreement and signatures of boys to the 
 same, ........... 36 
 
 14. Statement of Captain Sword, of Indian police, and William 
 Garnett, Government interpreter at Pine Ridge, regarding sig- 
 natures of boys and explanation of terms of the agreement, . 38 
 
 15. Important statement of William Garnett, . . . -39 
 
TilBLE DF STilTISTICS 
 
 CnncErning ilgEnciEs RsfBrrBd tn in the 
 
 FDrBgning RspDrt. 
 
 Cheyenne River Agency. 
 Population :— 
 
 Men, 880 
 
 Women, I>I44 
 
 Boys, 575 
 
 Girls, 590 
 
 Total, 2,189 
 
 Live Stock :^ . . . . 
 
 Horses I.67S 
 
 Mules, 7 
 
 Cattle, 4.000 
 
 Swine '50 
 
 Domestic Fowls, 5oo 
 
 Total 6,332 
 
 Farming. 
 
 Acresbrokenby Government for the Indians during the year 1882 268 
 
 Acres broken by the Indians, 'oo 
 
 Acres planted in potatoes by Indian boys at Government Boarding-school, . . 5 
 
 Total, 373 
 
 Crow Creek Agency. 
 
 Population : — 
 
 ,, 270 
 
 Men, 
 
 Women '. ' ! ! ! ! ". 207 
 
 B°y= ; ; 178 
 
 Girls, . 
 
 ^ , 988 
 
 Total, •. 4^ 
 
48 
 
 Indian Police. 
 
 Captain I 
 
 Sergeant I 
 
 Privates, 8 
 
 Total lo 
 
 Farming. 
 
 Acres broken for the Indians by the Government during the year 1882, .... 135 
 
 Acres broken by the Indians themselves during the same year 57 
 
 Total 192 
 
 The Indians have sown, 
 
 Acres in wheat, 162 
 
 " " corn 240 
 
 " " potatoes, 57 
 
 " " sundries 55 
 
 Total, 514 
 
 About three-fourths of these Indians wear citizens' clothing. 
 
 Lower BRULfe Agency. 
 Population : — 
 
 Men, 702 
 
 Women, 856 
 
 Total 1,558 
 
 Farming. 
 
 Acres broken during the years 1880, 1881, and 1882, 636^ 
 
 Acres broken during the year 1882 alone, '37 J^ 
 
 Yankton Agency. 
 Population : — 
 
 Men (full blood) 834 
 
 Women (full blood) 807 
 
 Men (mixed blood), no 
 
 Women (mixed blood), 127 
 
 Total 1,577 
 
 Number under 20 years of age : — 
 
 Boys, ^,^ 
 
 Girls 352 
 
 Total ^ 
 
 Farming. 
 Indian farmers have raised crops as follows : — 
 
 Busbeli. 
 
 195 acres of wheat, yielding 3,574 
 
 41 acres of oaU, yielding , jjq 
 
49 
 
 I,200 acres of corn, yielding 30,000 
 
 8 acres of potatoes, yielding goo 
 
 ''«4 Total -^^ 
 
 2,500 tons of hay have been cut and put up during the last year. 
 
 Pine Ridge Agency. 
 Population : — 
 
 Ogallala Sioux, 7,700 
 
 Northern Cheyennes, 400 
 
 Total . . 8,100 
 
 Houses erected by Indians, of which the material was supplied by them, . . . 550 
 1,500 cows and bulls issued to the Indians two years ago, number now by in- 
 crease, 3,500 
 
 Day schools, 6, with an average attendance of 200 scholars. 
 
 An efficient Indian police force (under charge of Mr. Daniel Brown, 
 
 formerly First Sergeant of United States Cavalry), numbers ... 50 
 
 Indian Freighting. 
 All of the supplies, amounting to two or three million pounds, have been trans- 
 ported by the Indians from the railroad terminus to the agency. 
 
 There have been engaged in the work over four hundred Indian wagons, all man- 
 aged by the younger Indians. 
 
 Rosebud Agency. 
 
 No report of this agency is given in the Report of the Commissioner of the In- 
 dian Affairs, from which these statistics have been gathered. 
 
 Santee Agency. 
 Population : — 
 
 About, 700 
 
 1872. 1882. 
 
 Acres under cultivation, 450 2,605 
 
 Wheat raised, bushels, 1,000 7,000 
 
 Com raised, " 3.000 50,000 
 
 Potatoes raised, " 3.000 . 6,240 
 
 Hay cut, tons, 400 1,500 
 
 Horses 202 322 
 
 Cattle, 192 633 
 
 Swine 25 176 
 
 Flax raised, pounds, . . . 1,500 
 
 Harness, double sets made, 50 
 
 Brick manufactured, 125,000 
 
 Lime burnt ^^o 
 
 At Santee the acreage has been gradually increased and rations partially with- 
 H n The Indians are becoming more self-supporting and, of less expense to the 
 Government. 
 
Officers of the Association. 
 
 WAYNE MacVEAGH. 
 
 GEORGE M. DALLAS. 
 
 EFFINGiHAM B. MORRIS. 
 
 HERBERT WELSH, 
 
 Hancock Strrbt, GbiuiaktowNj Fa. 
 
 "Steaawte*, ' 
 •C. STUART PATTERSON; 
 
 38 South Third Street. 
 
 GEOROE M. DALLAS, fiFFINGHAM B. MORRIS, 
 
 RICHARD C. DALE, HENRY S. PANCOAST,, 
 
 W. W. FRAZIER, JAMES E. RHOADS, 
 
 PHILIP C. GARRETT, JOSEPH B. TO'WNSENO, 
 
 J. TOPLIFF JOHNSON, "WAYNE MacVEAGH, 
 
 WISTAR MORRIS. HERBERT WELSH. 
 
 oSociti) of iSoiiiiaefota, 
 
 • HON. GEO. SHARSWOOD, LL. D., HON. ELI K. PRICE, 
 
 HON. JOHN WELSH. HON. J. I. CLARK HARE, 
 
 DR. WILLIAM PEPPER. 
 
 • Deceased. 
 
?%v^^ 
 
 .■?*. 
 
 
 1 
 
 ' ^r^ilHiM^B'I^V^^^^^^H ' ^F ^E^F T^^^j'lfc^^. ^'^Jl 
 
 ■i 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^k^hI 
 
 
 
 
 
 w^i9i^y9 
 
 
 :..