well, but they have large fields of hay which bring them in quite good returns. A severe hailstorm injured the crops of both. PRACTICAL TEACHING. If you would allow me to suggest my ideas of carrying out a practical system of instruction, I would suggest the following: I have at the agency a large field, 300 acres, well fenced, easily irrigated, and most excellent land, known as the "Indian field." My idea is to break and prepare that land, or enough of it, in the fall; then in the spring employ at a fair compensation four men from each tribe; have them to do all the work, under either my personal supervision or that of the farmer's, and in three years we will be prepared to return to each tribe four well instructed farmers, capable of teaching their own people to farm. If the seed wheat and potatoes to plant this land in was furnished by the Government, I feel confident that I could raise bread and feed enough to solve the problem of plenty of rations at the least cost, and these Indians would cost very little more than additional farmers. This need in no way prevent a proper attention to their crops at home, as they can still each one plant his little patch. The best results might not be shown the first year, but after that I am convinced that the wisdom of the plan would be very evident. DRUNKENNESS. I found on assuming charge here that this has been one of the most pregnant causesof trouble among the Shoshones, they frequently returning from North Fork under the influence of liquor, creating not only a disturbance but being at times very dangerous, their old feud and enmity to the Arapahoes always breaking out when they had been drinking. So I directed my first efforts to getting rid of these miserable liquor traffickers, who for the chances of making money would trade on the lives and property of all the white citizens in the community, for a drunken Indian is in reality a crazy and irresponsible being. It was unsafe to be on the road, any conveyance being liable to be stopped. They frequently, I am told, shot into the houses of the agency. The Department promptly responded to my call, and sent a detective, who was energetic and succeeded in arresting the two ringleaders, which, together with the establishment of a guard-house at the agency, has put an entire stop to drunkenness, and I have not seen a drunken Indian on my reservation since I took charge, which is an important step towards civilization and improvement, old Washakie, the Shoshone chief, telling me, with tears in his eyes," that his heart felt good, now there was no drinking among his young men, and that he believed if I had come sooner his boy would not have been killed in a drunken row." SHELTERS. The want of shelter for tools and implements is sorely felt, and it is hoped that when the small amount I am authorized to expend arrives I may induce the Indians to haul the stuff sufficient to put up temporary ones, which will protect them in a measure from the injurious effects of the hot suns we have here. HOUSES. My statistics will show the number of houses built during the year by the Indians none of which have cost the Government anything. If I could give them the doors, windows, and stoves needed I am sure they would build a great many more. When it is considered with what difficulty lumber of the roughest kind is procured, it is astonishing that they should have built as many as they have. One log-cabin has been put up at the agency house at a very small cost, the logs being sawed for me at the post free of charge, and the work done by the agency carpenter, and some repairs put on the old warehouse. I have also inclosed the yard of the agency house with a neat picket fence, the posts and rails having been put up by my predecessor, and the palings being here for the purpose. Bridges have been made and repaired when necessary, the whole place being nicely whitewashed this spring by the agency force. I have urged the Indians to protect the property issued by the Government to them, and it is very encouraging to see the efforts they make in sheltering their wagons and tools by a brush shed, in many instances their wagon shed being larger and better than the tepee they live in themselves. PUBLIC PROPERTY. On assuming charge here I discovered a vast accumulation for years of property, a great deal of it useless, but misleading the Department as to the quantity on hand.' I caused it to be collected and arranged; then requested a board of survey; so have, by permission, gotten rid of a large amount of worthless stuff, which simply incumbered my returns. I would beg leave to suggest in future that the inspectors who visit me periodically, be instructed to examine and recommend to you what should be done with such useless property, in order that I may get rid of it and not collect it on hand in future, as storage room is very scarce here. I discovered also a very loose and slack idea with regard to public property, but it has been my effort to eradicate all such ideas, and I have in every instance visited upon them the full extent of the law, having now one man in the hands of the United States marshal for stealing public property, which I succeeded in recapturing. COURT OF INDIAN OFFENSES. I find to a considerable extent it impracticable to establish a court of offenses, but in lieu thereof I have adopted the following plan: Each tribe has elected a business council, consisting of six men, whom I consult in all questions of interest connected with the tribes. As an example of how it works, I had a case of horse-stealing, a Shoshone stealing the horses of an Arapaho and selling them to a white man. As soon as the facts were discovered I arrested the man and confined him in the guardhouse; then called the Shoshone business council. They selected three of their number to meet three white employés, to examine the facts and report what in their judgment was the punishment to be awarded. The result was satisfactory, and to a considerable extent has put a stop to similar offenses. CIVILIZATION. I found my Indians in a low state of civilization, about one-third of them wearing white mens' clothes, the balance mostly in blankets, though a great mary more wear hats and shoes this year than in any previous years. The Arapahoes show quite a disposition to work, whenever it is offered to them, they having furnished the extra supply of wood needed for the school, besides furnishing myself and many of the employés with the larger part of our firewood. Both tribes have hauled quite a large amount of hay to the post contractor, for which they get a very fair price. The hay this year, although short from a severe spring drought, is unusually fine in quality. FREIGHTING. The Indians have shown great eagerness this year to begin their yearly freighting, and as soon as their horses were in order to start I sent the first train, which was on the 17th July, they making the trip both ways, a distance of 300 miles, in seventeen days. This train consisted of 27 Arapaho wagons, which brought in over 50,000 pounds of freight. The next train left here on the 5th of August, with 52 Shoshone wagons, and will bring over 104,000 pounds, and are on their return trip now. They were very much encouraged by having freight to carry down, being kindly furnished, by our trader and other white men, with wool. The absence of funds to pay them on their arrival here made this peculiarly acceptable to them. THE SANITARY CONDITION. The sanitary condition of these Indians is fair, there being comparatively few deaths, and they mostly from pulmonary diseases. The need of a hospital, even of small dimensions, is very great, as in many cases we could alleviate if not entirely relieve suffering which otherwise proves fatal. The experience of these Indians in transferring their children from the agency to other schools has been peculiarly unfortunate, most of them having died either while at school or shortly after their return. Two are still at Carlisle, and I have sent four Arapaho boys to Santee Training School to learn the trades of shoemaker, blacksmith, carpenter, and saddler. They were fine specimens, and I hope the change of climate will not be so great as to prove fatal to them, but that they will return to be a substantial help to their people. STOCK RAISING. Except in the matter of horses it is not carried on to a very great extent, though some few have herds of cattle. It seems the Government several years ago gave these Indians some very fine cows and other cattle, but by some misunderstanding they supposed it to be an annuity issue, which they would receive every year, and either ate or otherwise disposed of them. The few who retained theirs have fine herds, notably one Shoshone, who owns 200 beautiful cows. I think a few good stallions and bulls to each tribe will be of the greatest benefit in improving their herds. GRAZING. This reservation for many years has been heavily grazed by white men's cattle, but under present instructions they have been notified to remove them. Many have already done so, others are preparing to do so, and the disposition of all is to obey the order promptly; but a military detail accompanied by my police moved out on the 23d to remove stock from one quarter of the reservation from which the owners have failed to move and which are depredating on the Indians. These details will be continued as long as necessary. The question of keeping them off is one of larger magnitude, as they, having been accustomed to graze here for years, will wander back, and it will require a very much larger force than I have at my command to entirely prevent it; but the commanding officer of the fort and myself will do our best to carry out the orders of the Department. In a reservation, 50 by 60 miles, with no natural barrier and only fordable streams and boundaries, it is impossible to entirely keep them off the borders. POLICE. There was virtually no police organization on my arrival, there being only five policemen appointed. I have not yet myself succeeded in getting it in good shape.. I am now trying to do so; and when I find proper men for the positions will appoint them and see that they are drilled and made more effective. SCHOOLS. We have an agency boarding school, with quite a large adobe building, badly built, and one gable end bulging out now, and has to be propped. It is capable of accommodating seventy-five scholars, but I found the able and efficient superintendent struggling to keep it up against difficulties which would have defeated most men's endeavors, as he had to contend against inefficiency in some employés and dishonesty in others, and did not receive proper support in his work. Since my taking charge the school has been too great in numbers for the capacity of the building, and we have had to refuse scholars for want of sleeping room. Inefficiency and dishonesty have been eradicated, and the satisfactory condition of my school is the reward. There is nothing now to prevent the school increasing to the number of 125 or 130 scholars, except need of an addition to the school building and a new laundry room, for which estimates have been furnished your Department. There is a mission school, under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, reorganized since July 1, among the Arapahoes, about 30 miles from the agency. Additions have been made to the buildings and considerable energy displayed in firmly establishing themselves. I see no reason why they should not have from 20 to 30 scholars this present session, but as yet they have just made a start. The superintendent of my agency school is an Episcopal minister who, bestules school work, performs missionary work, in which he is assisted by an educated Arapaho Indian, a minister of the same church. The industrial teacher, although having reported very late in the season, by his energetic exertions and knowledge has the prospect of a most bountiful supply of vegetables for the school, as against a most inadequate and, I think, criminal deficiency last year of everything. The yield will be so heavy that it is with great difficulty we can store it from the effects of frost. The potato crop is the best Ï ever saw in my twenty years' experience as a farmer. The school carpenter has been steadily at work supplying the necessary conveniences of the school building, making the much needed plain furniture, the building of a barn now in the course of construction, repairing outhouses, and numerous small additions absolutely necessary to the comfort of the house. I found the pumps and pipe which had been lying here useless for years. I immediately set to work and with all dispatch possible, in view of the near approach of severe freezing, put a pump in the agency house and one in the school laundry; words are almost inadequate to convey the idea of the real comfort and convenience it has been, as our little school boys had for a long time been walking 60 yards through the severest weather to bring all the water needed in that large establishment, besides the additional security in case of fire. I think it a wise decision on the part of the Department to have granted the request of the Indians and myself to furnish beef and flour alone, cutting off sugar, coffee, &c., from the rations. With an ample supply of substantials these people could not suffer very much, and by a little extra exertion they can and will supply themselves with these extra luxuries; but, as yon are aware, the present allowance of beef and flour is little over half-rations, and to people who are utterly without resource, having the rudest ideas of agriculture, and all game virtually extinct, there must still be felt a want of sufficient food until more is furnished or they learn more about agriculture, or the plan of raising it on the Indian field is adopted. I take pleasure in stating that my present employés give me their full support on all occasions. I have had to discharge some for carelessness and inefficiency, and have found one to be dishonest, stealing property from the school. They have been discharged and punished. The relations existing between the military post and agency are most pleasant, and under the efficient management of the present commanding officer and his gentlemanly corps of officers I anticipate nothing in the future but a continuance of the same. Thanking you and the honorable Secretary of the Interior for the confidence and support you have extended to me during my stay here, and requesting a continuance of the same in the future, with the fair start I have already made I feel confident I will materially advance these Indians and make them present a happier picture in my next report. Respectfully, your obedient servant, The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. THOS. M. JONES, United States Indian Agent. LINCOLN INSTITUTION, INDIAN DEPARTMENT, During the twelve months from October 1, 1885, to September 30, 1886, there have been, in the girl's department of the Lincoln Institution, 112 girls on the roll. Of these, 4 have been returned home on account of si kness, 4 by parents' request, and 1 girl has died of consumption. In the boys' department there have been 116 boys during the year. Of these, 14 have been returned home on account of sickness, 4 by request of parents, and 1 boy has died. The superintendents report that the general health in both departments is excellent. The majority of the pupils sent home were over 20 years of age, and diseased when they arrived, although all had a physician's certificate from their homes, stating they were in good health. Both girls and boys attend school half of each day, and all are engaged in manual labor the other half of the day. Those who go to school in the forenoon work in the afternoon, and vice versa. The Indian girls are instructed in the school of the institution in the branches necessary to a plain English education, and are also taught music and singing. Thirty-four of the girls attend public school and do so well in the classes with white children that an Omaha girl, last Christmas, carried off the first prize in her school, while of the 12 prizes offered in the school 9 were carried off by girls from the Lincoln Institution out of school hours. The girls are engaged in domestic pursuits. They sweep, clean, scrub, wash windows, wash and iron, in fact, do all the work of the house and keep it in good order. They also learn to cook, bake bread, make pies, &c. During the year they have made between 700 and 800 garments, trimmed 30 hats, knitted 516 pairs of stockings by machine, 105 pairs by hand, 35 pairs of mittens and 6 scarfs, besides crocheting 14 hoods, 12 yards of lace, and 50 collars. The girls do all their own mending, overlooked by a teacher, darn their stockings, and hem all the towels, &c., used in the house. The boys are instructed in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, and geography, and do exceedingly well in their studies, in view of the fact that a new language has to be acquired at the same time. The trades taught the boys are shoemaking, tailoring, weaving, broom making, baking, farming, and engineering. During the past year 42 boys have been at work in the different trades, and 19 have worked on farms during the summer months. In the shoe shops these Indian boys have made 479 pairs of men shoes and repaired 1,00 pairs. In the tailor shop 189 coats and 52 pairs of pants have been made, and 75 uniform coats have been altered. In the broom-making and weaving department 4,000 brooms have been made, and 350 yards of carpet woven. Several of the boys are now attending the public school, 1 young man of 24 is learning harness making, 2 are learning the wholesale grocery business in good places, while 2 are still in the country doing farm work. In order to secure a permanent summer home for the girls of the Lincoln Institution, 10 acres of land have been purchased near Wayne Station, P. R. R., on which a suitable and commodious house has been erected, at a cost of $10,000. Here the INDIAN AFFAIRS. entire female department of the Institution spent the summer of 1886, with the exception of 30 girls who were at service in tarmers' families during the summer months. While at Ponemah the girls have their regular school hours, do the work of the house, and all their washing, and do it well. It is not deemed advisable to have them wash all the clothes in winter, as they take cold easily, although a number are done by them, and the rest of the washing is done by machinery in the laundry of the boys department. During the past summer 10 or 12 of the boys of the Institution were employed at Ponemal in clearing the land around the house and preparing it for a vegetable garden. Next year it is anticipated that a number of vegetables will be raised there for the use of the Institution. The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. H. Ex. 1, pt. 5—31 ANNE H. WHORTEN, |