The condition of the Yumas is about the same as represented in my last monthly report. No complaints have reached me concerning them, and at present they are subsisting on the corn and melons which they have raised this year. Many of the Yavapais, as at last report, are with their head chief, Qua-shacka-mah, on the reservation, where they are subsisting on corn, melons, and mesquite beans, the products of the present season. A large number of these re scattered through the mountains, particularly in the regions about Castle Dome, 70 miles below La Paz. This tribe appears to be divided into several independent bands, each choosing its own leader, and defying the authority of the head chief. Many of them, either from an aversion to tilling the soil for a subsistence, disgust from former failures, or precariousness of success in raising a crop without high freshets at the proper season, or irrigation, will not stay on the river. They appear to be determined to dwell in the interior and pursue the chase. They bear a very bad character, and travellers dread them, and pray for their extermination. Of those who live in the Castle Dome region, some have rancherias, and raise sufficient to subsist on; but most of them are predatory, and complaints of depredations committed by them are constantly reaching me. A party of this band visited the ranch of Mr. Roods, about 25 miles below La Paz, on or about the 1st of September, from which they drove away a valuable horse. They returned in a few days, and seeing no men about the house, threatened to kill the women on the premises unless they (the women) gave them meat, flour, and sugar; but seeing men approach the house, they quietly left the place. About the 22d ultimo some of the same band visited the ranch again, and, as the proprietor says, "Killed the proof jack and a valuable horse, the hides and meat of which they carried off in the direction of Castle Dome." Ranch-men and other citizens are incessantly calling for protection against these Indians depredations, and grossly censure the Indian officers, and denounce the government because protection is not furnished them. I have used all means in my power to get this tribe together, and have it settle with the Mohaves on the river, and raise their subsistence as far as possible by planting and attending to a crop. But without the establishment of a reservation supplied with an irrigating canal, thereby making the production of a crop certain, and the establishment of these Indians on it, it will be impossible to entirely control them. All the Mohaves south of Fort Mohave are on the reservation attending to their crops. This tribe probably numbers about 4,000, and mostly dwell in the vicinity of Fort Mohave. Between 600 and 800 of them are at present on the reservation, where they have been daily expecting during the past month an attack from the Chimihueves. They have many patches or gardens under cultivation, which would make in all about 30 acres, planted in corn, melons, pumpkins, and beans, on which they subsist, and which they consume as fast as matured. I have heard of no depredations committed by the Hualapais during the month, and therefore infer that they have been quiet. I respectfully call attention to the items of beef and flour in my estimate of funds for the first quarter of 1867. As the Indians at present consume everything which they raise, by the 1st of January, 1867, there will be fully onefifth of the 10,000 river Indians who will be, from age, childhood, sickness, and other causes, in a state of destitution and suffering, and as all the river Indians are peremptorily prohibited from marauding, or going into the interior for game, muscal, or any other purpose, such as are not able to procure and perform labor or work along the river will be entirely helpless and dependent upon the agency for subsistence. If they are to be withdrawn and kept from their hunting grounds, they must be provided for in seasons of distress, or they will, most assuredly, break through all the restraints which have been placed upon them, and irritated by long promising and slow performing, contemptuously defy us, and accuse us of having acted deceitfully towards them. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN FEUDGE, Special U. S. Indian Agent, Colorado River Indians. G. W. LEIGHY, Esq., No. 38. LA PAZ, A. T., December 15, 1866. SIR: The painful duty devolves on me of informing you of the death of Superintendent George W. Leihy. This I intended to have done by the first mail after the intelligence had reached me, but the circumstances attending the dreadful tragedy preyed so violently on my feelings as to induce a severe fit of sickness, from which I have just recovered; and having no clerk-although I asked authority to employ one in my report of June last, but have never received any reply-I was unable to inform you sooner. Superintendent Leihy, accompanied by his clerk, left this place on the 15th of October, for the purpose of enlarging the reservation or grounds of the Maricopa and Pimo Indians on the Gila river, in compliance with instructions to that effect from Washington. He expected to be absent on such duty about three weeks, but must have been detained longer than he had anticipated, as I heard nothing of him until about a week previous to his death, when I learned that he was to have started from the Maricopa settlement on the 9th ultimo, to return to La Paz via Prescott. I was therefore looking for his return daily, when on the 2d instant two members from the recent territorial legislature arrived here from Prescott, and informed me of Mr. Leihy's death. Mr. Leihy and his clerk, Mr. H. C. Everts, started from Prescott to come to La Paz about 8 o'clock a. m. on Sunday, the 18th ultimo. They had with them in the wagon a friendly Maricopa for interpreter, and an Apache Mohave Indian. The latter was taken prisoner last July in the fight at Skull valley, and had been kept in confinement since that time at Prescott. The superintendent was bringing him to this place to turn him over to his tribe, which belongs to my agency, to be punished by his chief. When about 12 miles from Prescott, near a place called Bell's ranch, the superintendent and party (clerk and two Indians) were attacked and most fiendishly massacred by hostile Indians. It is believed that Mr. Leihy fell into the hands of the savages while yet alive, as his arms and legs were broken in several places, his heart torn out, and his head mashed with rocks into a jelly. Mr. Everts's head was cut off and carried away by the savages. The wagon was burned and all the animals were killed. This is another sad chapter to the many barbarities which are constantly being committed in this Territory, and notwithstanding that there are persons to be found ready to assert that there are but few hostile Indians in the Territory, there is not a week passes without the commission of some horrible atrocity by Indians. As I have mentioned in former reports, these Indians having been called or driven from their hunting grounds without any provision having been made for their subsistence, or to enable them to procure the necessaries of life, they are mindful of these wrongs, and will avail themselves of every opportunity to break away from all restraints that have been placed upon them; and never having seen or come in contact with a military force sufficiently strong to awe or overpower them, they will be emboldened to treat us with defiance, and become a Scourge to the whole country. Since Mr. Leihy's death I have opened the official letters which had come to hand for him, and learn from one of them that Mr. G. W. Dent has been appointed superintendent in Mr. Leihy's place. I have no knowledge of his whereabouts. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. D. V. COOLEY, JOHN FEUDGE, Special U. S. Indian Agent, Colorado River Indians. Commissioner Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C, NEVADA SUPERINTENDENCY. No. 39. OFFICE SUPERINTENDENT INDIAN AFFAIRS, SIR: I have the honor to submit, herewith, my first report. On my arrival here I found my predecessor without an office, office furniture, stationery, &c., and also that no funds were in his hands. The goods purchased by Superintendent Dent for this superintendency had arrived here, but, of course, could not be distributed, there being no funds for the payment of the transportation to the several localities where the Indians reside at the present time. The weather and roads have been so bad since my arrival that it has been an impossibility to visit any of the Indians; but I hope to be able to do so in a few days, and then will endeavor to give a more perfect estimate of the number in each band. The goods for these Indians ought to be distributed, throughout this whole superintendency, as early as the 1st of November, each year; it is much cheaper transporting them, the Indians are much better prepared for the cold weather and rainy season, the detentions and difficulties of getting about the country are avoided, and the Indians will remain much more contentedly on their reservations, fewer of them visiting the cities and towns, where they frequently get into trouble with the whites, and are apt scholars at learning all the vices. The Pah-Utes, at present on the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake reservation, number about 600 persons, are quiet and peaceable, and a few disposed to work. Their principal employment is fishing, hunting rabbits, gathering pine nuts and roots, which articles constitute their native diet. They are, however, becoming scattered through the towns and settlements, and ought to be collected and placed on some reservation more remote from the whites, and where they can have a permanent home. The Pah-Utes of Humboldt lake, numbering about 600, ought to be collected and settled on lands adjoining the Truckee River band. Their manner of living is so much the same, and being equally friendly to the government, there is no good reason for not living in harmony. The Pah-Utes of Carson sink and river, numbering about 1,500, should also be removed and placed on lands adjoining the others. The Pah-Utes of Walker River and Lake reservation now number about 600, and occupy the lands surrounding the lake and on either side of the river, a distance of about 40 miles, the reservation being about 60 miles in length. This reservation is sufficiently large for all these bands, the river and lake affording an ample supply of fish. The similarity of language, habits, and customs will soon lead them to observe the same laws and government without jealousy. The bands and their chiefs should each be recognized separately, but yet placed on joining lands, and so near that one agent or sub-agent could manage all their affairs, he living on the reservation. No other white should be allowed to reside there. I would most earnestly recommend that all these Indians should be collected and placed on the Walker River and Lake reservation. If it is deemed advisable by the department to move these bands, I would recommend that they be furnished with a sufficient number of log houses, cattle and sheep for working and breeding purposes, farming tools and agricultural implements, seeds and grains, and such quantities of flour, meats, and other food as they would require the first year, giving them as usual a few presents, and such articles of clothing as they actually need. It should be the duty of the local agent to teach them when to sow and when to gather their crops, and dispose of for their benefit such excess of their product as they can spare. I am convinced, if this policy is pursued, the Indians will not only remain on their reservation peaceably and quiet, but in a few years the excess of their product from tilling the ground will nearly or quite pay all the expenses connected with their care. Another reason for the removal of these bands, besides domesticating them, is, that the lands now occupied by them (and which are producing nothing) are the best farming lands on this portion of the State, and which would at once be settled by whites and cultivated, if an opportunity offered, and the product would find a ready market here, saving the people the necessity of importing many of the necessaries of life from California. The rapid construction of the Pacific railroad, running as it will directly through these reservations, will necessarily consume the greater portion of the timber, as well as scatter the Indians from their present location. I cannot too strongly urge upon the department the necessity of an early removal of these Indians to some place where a permanent home may be provided for them. The Washoes number about 500 persons, and are now scattered over an extent of country beginning at or near Lake Washoe, and running thence south along the western border of the State, a distance of about 50 miles, to the California State line. They gather around the towns and settlements begging, working a little, and drinking whiskey when they can get it. They hunt rabbits, fish, gather pine, nuts and roots, and live without regard to reservation or home. The same general rules should be adopted as recommended for the Pah-Utes, placing them, however, on some reservation more distant from the Pah-Utes, and under charge of a separate sub-agent. They are poor and miserable, and need immediate care. If these remarks and recommendations meet the views of the department, a liberal appropriation be made by Congress, and the plan executed this coming summer, I am fully convinced that in one year the improved condition of the Indian affairs in this State will prevent any future disturbance or trouble with them. The present appropriation is very small, and when compared with the appropriation for many tribes, is insignificant. Take, for example, the Omahas of Nebraska, numbering about 1,000 persons, and appropriations amounting to over $90,000 were made by the last Congress, while the entire appropriation for at least 10,000 persons, in this superintendency, is but $25,000, and this sum in a portion of our country where all expenses are far greater than almost any other. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. L. V. BOGY, T. T. DWIGHT, Superintendent Indian Affairs. Commissioner Indian Affairs. No. 40. NEVADA SUPERINTENDENCY, OFFICE SUPERintendent InDIAN AFFAIRS, SIR: Agreeably to the requirements of the department, I have the honor to submit the following: The very limited time intervening from the date of my arrival here till that appointed for submitting the annual report to the Indian bureau, will, I trust, be found sufficient excuse for its brevity. There are now over 10,000 Indians in this superintendency, all of whom are quietly and peaceably disposed, but whose means of subsistence have been greatly restricted from the increasing influx of our white population, who are, step by step, encroaching on the favorite haunts of the Indian tribes in this State. The streams which formerly afforded them a plentiful supply of fish are now invaded by the miner for milling purposes; the pineries, which formerly afforded them an annual crop of nuts, have been squatted on and are fast giving way before the woodman's axe. In fact the means of subsistence for this people, which were always scanty, are now almost completely shut off. Indeed, they must either be taught the arts of husbandry to sustain themselves, or the alternative will be forced on them to starve or steal. I need scarcely add they would choose the latter horn of the dilemma with great unanimity. In my last annual report I had the honor to refer to the necessity of a liberal appropriation for farming purposes. I would again urge the necessity for such action at the earliest moment possible. Nothing can be done at present for want of funds, although the Indians are willing to work, and can be easily taught. With means to commence on a scale commensurate with the exigencies of the case, the condition of this people would be greatly ameliorated. The Shoshone tribe, inhabiting the eastern portion of the State, have been severely visited by small-pox this spring. Acting Assistant Surgeon Bigger, at Fort Ruby, was authorized by this office to vaccinate the Indians in his neighborhood. No report having reached me from Doctor Bigger, I am unable to state the exact number treated by him. I am happy to state, however, that the disease has almost entirely disappeared. Herewith is forwarded a report of Agent Campbell, to which your attention is respectfully directed. There is no doubt but a practical knowledge of agriculture can be easily imparted to the Indians of this State; and the necessity for such instruction is, as I have before hinted, pressing and immediate. I am clearly of the opinion that the propensity of the Nevada Indians to |