had duplicated his crime by murdering the United States deputy marshal who had him in charge. Still another and more recent case is that of Spotted Tail, junior, and Thunder Hawk, who killed White Thunder (all of them Sioux Indians), the Rosebud Agency on the Sioux reservation. Under the decision in the Crow Dog case, this office had no alternative but to reluctantly order the prisoners, who, in the first instance, had been placed in the custody of the military, back to the reservation. In regard to this af fair the agent reports as follows: The quietude and monotony of affairs at the agency was broken on the evening of May 29, by the killing of Chief White Thunder by Spotted Tail (son of the late Chief Spotted Tail) and an Indian named Thunder Hawk. My information, obtained principally from Spotted Tail after the fracas, is that White Thunder, feeling aggrieved, went to Spotted Tail's camp, and took therefrom seven horses and other property; Spotted Tail going to his camp and seeing some of his horses dead on the road, he, with two others, Thunder Hawk and Long Pumpkin, went to and commenced firing into the camp of White Thunder's friends, during which White Thunder received two rifle shots, one from Spotted Tail in the leg and another from Thunder Hawk in the breast, from which he soon died. Long Pumpkin was thought to be mortally wounded; he has progressed till the present time with prospects of final recovery. The father of White Thunder was also less seriously wounded, but on account of extreme age may not recover. Six horses were killed in the affray. The next morning Spotted Tail and Thunder Hawk answered my summons and appeared before me for examination. I sent them to Fort Niobrara. They have been kept prisoners at the fort since that time. If there is no law to punish or detain offenders of such character in durance, they should not be returned to the place of their crimes, where the friends and relatives of the murdered reside, and who stand ready, whenever afflicted with "bad hearts" or are "mourning," to avenge the offense, endangering the lives of many, and good government of all. I look upon this trouble as an outgrowth of the return to this agency of "Crow Dog" (the murderer of Chief Spotted Tail, August, 1881), imprisoned, tried, convicted, and condemned for this crime; afterwards on the decision of the United States Supreme Court, "that the court had no jurisdiction over Indian offenders against Indians," he was released and returned here, feeling of more importance than the highest chief of the nation. His presence from the time of his return has been the cause of jealousy and heartburning; it has at different times appeared as though trouble would result from this cause. "White Thunder" had become one of the progressive men among the Indians; had recently induced a number of his band to leave the vicinity of the agency to form a new camp where good farms could be made, and by his example induced them to go to work. His death will be a loss to his people, as also to the whites, to whom he was a good friend; his influence was on the side of good government, law and order. Other instances may be cited, but enough have been given to show the necessity for an amendment of the law in this particular. The average Indian may not be ready for the more complex questions of civil law, but he is sufficiently capable to discriminate between right and wrong, and should be taught by the white man's law to respect the persons and property of his race, aud that under the same law he himself is entitled to like protection. In this connection I desire to call your attention to the importance of establishing a United States court in the Indian Territory, in accord ance with existing treaties with the civilized tribes, and I cannot better do so than by quoting from the annual report of the agent at the Union Agency, to which the civilized tribes are attached. He says: In criminal cases where white men and Indians are the parties, or where both parties are white men, the case is tried by the United States court at Fort Smith, Ark. About four-fifths of criminal cases tried at that court come from the Indian Territory; the long distances witnesses must travel to reach this court makes the administration of justice not only very expensive to the Government, and to the witnesses who are compelled to attend, but it is the cause of a large number of crimes committed in the Territory not being reported; witnesses cannot afford to travel several times to Fort Smith, Ark., to prosecute criminals. The fees and mileage will not pay ordinary fare and necessary expenses of the trip, allowing nothing for the time lost. The business of the court is transacted as rapidly as possible, but cases are continued from term to term, and several trips must be made by the witnesses before the case is tried. Criminals take advantage of this state of affairs, and crime is much more prevalent than if a court was established in the Territory, as the treaty provides and the Indians desire. The Territory having no friend at court to call attention to these matters, the Indian Office should do so in the interest of good order and economy. TIMBER AND OTHER DEPREDATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS. At the first session of the present Congress a bill (S. 1545) to amend section 5388 of the Revised Statutes in relation to timber depredations so as to apply to all classes of Indian lands, passed the Senate, but was not reached in the House. This legislation is much required, especially in the Indian Territory, where depredations are constant, and I would respectfully recommend that the bill be still further amended, so as to include coal and other minerals upon Indian lands. INDIAN POLICE. In the Indian appropriation bill approved May 27, 1878, provision was made for organizing an Indian police force, not exceeding 50 officers and 430 privates. During that year a force was organized at 30 different agencies, and from that day to this the wisdom of Congress in establishing such a force has been more apparent every year. During the past year the force has consisted of 784 officers and privates at 48 out of the 60 different agencies, and it is believed that the records of constabulary organizations throughout the country will not present a more favorable showing for fidelity, faithfulness, and impartial performance of duty than has been displayed by the Indian police. When it is borne in mind that a great majority of the cases upon which they are called to act are offenses committed by their own race against laws made by a race with which they have not heretofore been in sympathy; that they are hedged in by rules and regulations which so abridge the absolute freedom to which they have been accustomed as to gall and chafe them continually, any infringement of which is promptly punished; and that many of the regulations established forbid practices which almost form a part of the very existence of the Indian, practices and customs which are to them a religion, and which, if neglected, they believe will result in disaster and death, the impartiality with which the police have performed the duties devolving upon them is creditable in the highest degree. It matters not who the offender is, whether chief of the tribe or a young warrior, Indian or white man, friend or foe, stranger or one "to the manor born," when ordered to make an arrest there is no flinching from duty, and it is truly marvelous that so little friction has occurred in the performance of their duties. One of the best evidences of their efficiency and adherence to duty is shown in the fact that out of a force of nearly 800 men only 80 have been discharged from the force during the year for all causes combined. I cannot conscientiously perform my duty nor do justice to this mer itorious body of men without again calling attention to their meager salary, and urging that a more liberal compensation be paid to them. This office requires that they shall be men of unquestioned energy, courage, and self-command; be in vigorous bodily health; be good horsemen and good shots with rifle and pistol. They must be well acquainted with the topography of the reservation, and must so inform themselves as to the appearance of the cattle, wagons, and other property belonging on the reservation as to be able to identify them wherever found; must constantly patrol the districts assigned; must give immediate notice of the arrival of strangers on the reservation; must obtain all possible information in regard to timber, cattle, and horse-thieves, squatters, and liquor-sellers in the vicinity, and must vigilantly watch the movements of all suspicious characters and their associates, and report the same; must report all marriages, deaths, and cases of severe sickness or accident; and must perform all the regular duties assigned, and be ready for special service at any time. They are compelled to furnish and feed their own horses, many of them keeping several, and are often on a trail at hard riding for days at a time, all for the low salary of $8 per month for officers and $5 per month for privates. Of the 784 men in service the past year only 64 were single men; all the others had families averaging five members. During the year 128 resigned on account of "inadequate salary," and it is surprising that any accept or retain the position. Congress, at its last session, recognized the necessity of greater compensation by authorizing one agent to pay $15 per month. I earnestly recommend that the rate of compensation per month be fixed as follows: Officers, $15; sergeants, $12; privates, $10. GENERAL STATISTICS. The following tables show: (1) The distribution of population; (2) the objects and purposes of the expenditures from appropriations for the fiscal years ended June 30, 1882, 1883, and 1884. 4266 IND--II Nebraska (including 201 attached to Kansas agency, but still living in Nevada New Mexico 2 5,016 3,300 Total number in United States, exclusive of those in Alaska .264, 369 TABLE 2.-Objects and purposes of the expenditures from appropriations for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1882, 1883, and 1884. SCHOOLS. The status of school work among Indians, exclusive of the five civil. ized tribes, can best be shown by the following comparative statement: Of the above, 130 boarding pupils and 892 day pupils are in New York; the day pupils attend the 29 public schools which the State of New York provides for her Indian population. Training schools.-The principal educational advance of the year has been the starting of the three new training-schools referred to in my last report, at Genoa, Nebr., Chilocco, Ind. Ter., and Lawrence, Kans., opened, respectively, in January, February, and September. The reports of the first two are herewith, on pages 207 and 209. The latter is only just under way, and has now 125 out of the 340 pupils which it will accommodate. The Chilocco and Genoa schools have made a good record with their 319 pupils. They have the advantage of both Carlisle and Forest Grove in possessing sufficient land, and are giving special attention to stock-raising and farming. The Chilocco boys have a herd of 425 cattle, and the Genoa boys have cultivated faithfully 202 acres and raised 6,000 bushels of corn, 2,000 bushels of oats, and 1,200 bushels of vegetables. The nearness of the schools to Indian reservatious greatly reduces cost of transportation, but at the same time it suggests to the pupils a prompt remedy for homesickness and restiveness under restraint. Both schools have been annoyed by runaways, but it is hoped that serious embarrassment from this quarter need not be anticipated. Several of the employés of these schools are Carlisle and Hampton graduates. If Congress had not modified its appropriation and removed the restriction which limited the amount to be expended in support of these schools to $200 per pupil, including traveling expenses, they could not have been carried on. To require that the first expense of an industrial school shall not exceed the lowest sum at which it has been found possible to continue a school already established is unjust and unreasonable. For the current fiscal year only $175 per pupil (exclusive of traveling expenses) is appropriated, and I am at a loss to see how the schools can complete their first full year on this allowance. The other three training schools, at Carlisle, Forest Grove, and Hampton, have had an uneventful, useful year, with 578, 166, and 132 pupils, respectively, and a combined average attendance of 693. The detailed |