Show I 1 NEBRASKA TERRITORY the instructions and report of the indian department the secretary of the chii interior to the indian commissioner department OF THE INTERIOR 1 washington ton aug 18 53 SIR the congress of the united sta states te a having by the second section of the act approved ad march 1853 entitled an act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the indian department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various indian tribes for the year ending i n g june thirtieth one thousand eight hundred d r ed and fifty four authorized the president of the united states to enter into ne with the indian tribes west of the irate tate of missouri and iowa for the purpose of securing the assent of said tribes to the settlement of the citizens of the united states tates upon the lands claimed by said indians an and for the purpose of extinguishing the title of said tribes in whole or in part to said lands you ion have been designated by the president in accordance with the requirement qui rement of the third section of the act of Uon congress gress approved d february 1851 as the officer of the indian department to conduct those negotiations it is believed however that much good will result from a preliminary visit amon among 9 the indians and an exploration of the country tra in question and for this purpose and with a view to obtain all the information necessary to the preparation of full fall and detailed tail ed instructions as to the terms and conditions of the th treaties to be made you are requested to proceed at once to the indi indian 1 an country and discharge this prel preliminary imiri ary duty should you deem it expedient and proper however to enter into any negotiations with the tribes in question or either of them for the extinguishment of their title to the lands now claimed py by them or for securing their assent to their settlement by citizens of the united states you are fully authorized in the exercise of a sound discretion aided by your experience in the management of our indian relations to do so 80 ion you will be allowed such reason reasonable abl e expenses as you maybe may be subjected to in the execution ol of this appointment of which you will k keep a an n account and to defray which andru and to such e h presents to the indians as you may deem necessary and proper you are authorized zed to draw upon the department for such portion of the appropriation of ad march last as may be required I 1 have this day requested the secretary of war to give orders to the commanding officers of the military posts on your route to provide you with suitable escorts should you require any and doubt not that he will do so I 1 would suggest that you avil avail Tour yourself self of the opportunity afforded by this visit among the indians to inform yourself as fully as possible in respect to any matters in which the united states or the indians indiana are interested about which any difficulties are known to exist very respectfully your abt servi signed R MCC LILLAND secret secretary ary col geo W manypenny Mane penny corn com ind af the report of the Commin commissioner ioner department or OF THIC THE INTERIOR I 1 orrica or AFFAIRS nov 9 1853 5 sir I 1 have the honor to state that on the receipt of your communication of the august last informing me that the president had indicated me as the officer of the indian department to whom was in trusted the duty of conducting the negotiations with the indian tribes west of the states of missouri and iowa authorized by the second section of the act of congress of the 3rd ard of march 1853 1 immediately left washington and repaired to the indian country to discharge the preliminary duties embraced in my instructions and now be bee leave respectfully to report that hat I 1 entered the indian country on the 2nd and of september and left it on the alth of octo ber bej having occupied the intervening time in visiting and talking with various tribes and in obtaining from all sources of credit within my reach such information as might be useful and necesse necessary r in I 1 a forming the basis of the treaties bontem contemplated t by the act of congress As ali I 1 approached the borders of the indian country I 1 found some of the people discussing with considerable warmth in the press anid and otherwise the qa question estion whether that country wa was not then open to occupation and settlement by te the citizens of the united states and in some filst instances anceo those who held to the right to settle in the indian country had bad gone over to explore it with the intention to locate in it this discussion and the exploration had a very unfavorable influence on the indian mind the indians were alarmed reports reached them that large bodies of whites were coming into their country to take possession of and drive them from it kanoof many of them were contemplating the necessity of defending themselves and the proposition was abroad among some of the indians for a grand council at which they should hould as aa one alaid aid to me light up the fires after the old in dian ras fashion hion y and confederate for defence from the time the original indian title to the country was extinguished under the auko authority rity of the act of may 1830 and the tribes transplanted from the states and territories east of the mississippi arid and located in it until after the adjournment of the last congress it had ai always ways been considered a country set apart and dedicated to indian use and purposes anait and it was equally wen well understood before that time that no person other than so an indian could reside there except by permission of the government and for a specific purpose the enunciation therefore of the opinion that the die country was open to occupation and settlement at the time it was promulgated was most unfortunate congress had just fust before by act of the 3rd ard of marck march directed the president to enter into negotiations tiati ons with the indian tribes west of the states of missouri Mis souci and iowa for the purpose of becu IN 11 ring the thea anent went of said mid tribes to the settlement of the citizens of the united states upon the lands landa claimed by them and for the purpose of extinguishing gui shing their title tide to these lande in whole or in part I 1 found it very difficult to quiet the indians indiana and was unable fully to restore some of these people to the tranquil condition they were in before this discus discussion siou of the subject and exploration of their country commenced in many councils the effect of this enunciation was evident and in some instances I 1 iwas was unable while in council to obtain the calm cahn consideration of the indians indiana to the subject matter of my talk owing to the excited state of their minds resulting from apprehensions that their country was about to be taken from them without I 1 their consent and without any consideration being paid them for it and some even supposed that the object of my visit was to lavor favor such a design As I 1 progressed in my journey and the councils which I 1 held with various tribes increased in number i was happy to perceive a better state of feeling a willingness wl 11 to listen to be advised lieness and an aso assurance urance 0 of confidence and dependence on their great father and a determination to receive favorably the message I 1 bore from him to them while in the indian country I 1 held councils with the and missourians Missour ians sacs and foxes of missouri Kicka delawarek Oela Dela wares wyandotte Wyan dotts shawnees sacs and foxes of the mississippi chippeway Chipp ewas of swan creek and black river ottaway Ol Ot lawas tawas and Kaska and shaws and I 1 was desirous of seeing and talking with the pawnees Paw nees kansas ganges Qua paws sene cast cas and shawnees and Se but found it impossible to do so without spending more time in 11 the country than was deemed consistent with my duties at washington in view of the near approach of the meeting of congress the aggregate population of the tribes with whom I 1 held council according to the best data is souls and the aggregate quantity of land held by them is estimated at acres or about WO acres to each soul the aggregate population of the pawnees Paw nees kansas usages Qua paws Se and shawnees and Se according to the same data is souls and the aggregate quantity quantify of land held by them is estimated at lri acres or about 1586 acres to each soul all the tribes that I 1 visited and talked with except the Orna lins oittes and missourians Misson Missour rians ians are indians who were removed from ohio ano ana other western states to the indian country and 1 located there on specific grants of land in pursuance of treaty stipulations and with the express understanding that their present were to be their permanent homes so long as they existed as tribes or nations in some treaties it was provided that patents should issue to them but in ia no case was the power of alienation granted or any provision made by which the lands could be divided and held in severalty severally every tribe with whom I 1 held council with the exception of the and shaws and the and Kaska who own only acres and the shawnees Shawn pes refused to dispose of any portion of their land as their first response to my talk the small tribes above named proposed at once to dispose of the most of their land and intimated that if they could make satisfactory arrangements for a home they would sell the whole of it the shawneen shawn Shaw noen ex as their only reply proposed to sell the united states of acres reserving to themselves acres adjoining the state of missouri they number some souls the Chipp chippeway ewas who own acres and i number thirty souls and the ottaway Ol Ot tawas who own acres and number souls declined to dispose of their lands or any portion of them on the ground that they were pleased with their location desired to remain and thought in view of the amount of prairie land in their grants they had no greater quantity than was necessary for foT them or than the same number of white people would require the Orna litts riana loam and liamin Miam lit determine before their respective councils closed to sell in each case care the hall or more of their respective tracts the Kicka delawarek Dela wares sacs and foxes of missouri and the refused peremptorily to sell any portion of their lands and although the objections made were of a trivial character I 1 was unable to remove them the sacs and foxes of mississippi who alio rei side on the osage river were divided the sacs I 1 were desirous of selling all the land and the foxes opposed to selling any portion of it but bat the latter being much less numerous than the former proposed finally an equal division of both land and annuities the Wyan dots have only acres of land and number souls less than 50 acres to each soul their tract is eligibly situated in the faike nf the kansas and the missouri rivers being the purchase they made of the delawarek Dela wares they advised me that it was their dedire if the territory of nebraska should be organized to make such changes in their polity and their re lation to government as to conform to the new order of things in the territory but did not give me their views in relation to their lands since my return to washington I 1 have received a communication from the sacs and foxes of missouri informing me that they had determined to sell one half of their lands and wished to be invited t 9 the seat of government to make a treaty their agent in a letter ot the same date expresses the opinion that they will in all probability come to the conclusion to dispose of the whole of their tract by the time the period arrives to make the treaty with several of the tribes I 1 could have concluded treaties but only on condition that each should reserve for a tribal home that part of their land adjoining the states there are grave objections to such a policy involving alike the interests and peace of the citizens of the states I 1 of those who may become residents of the ter of the indians themselves from the disposition manifested by some indians of influx ence to acquiesce in the views submitted to them on this his point I 1 was of the opinion that with thew these tribes treaties on terms more favorable to the government and with provisions more consistent with their permanent welfare and happiness could be made after they had had time lor for discussion and reflection which some of them requested should be granted and I 1 therefore deemed it beet beat to leave the subject with them and confine myself to that branch of the instructions which made it wy rry duty to explore the country and to obtain such information as should be useful use ful and from which the data could be obtained to form as near as practicable a uniform system of treaties of the propriety of this course coarse I 1 have now no doubt As a general thing the indians who have been transplanted from their former abodes to the indian country seemed to have a vivid recollection of the assurances made to them at the time ot their removal that their present locations should be their perman permanent tit nt homes arld and race never with them or their possessions this point was prominently put forth by their speakers in almost every council and was earnestly and sometimes eloquently dwelt on in their speeches I 1 replied that it was true such assurances had been given them and that in most instances their lands had b bm beu m secured to them by treaty as long as they should exist as a tribe but that their true interests required that these treaties should be cancelled and that new ones should be made adjusting their rights and so disposing of them as to conform to the great and unexpected changes that had taken place I 1 admonished that they had not appreciated the advantages that had surrounded them in their new homes that the government had annually appropriated large amounts of money to be expended among them for agricultural educational and religious purposes that missionary establishments and schools had bad been reared i in n thir their midst and that devoted men ond and women had bad left their homes and the enjoyments enjoy ments and comforts of civilized life to dwell with them us as preachers prea chera and teachers and had labored to win them from their wild estate and conduct them in the paths of civilization and religion that few of them had listened adhering to a they generally did to the customs of their fathers and the heathen traci tiona which had descended to them that they had preferred indolence to labor vice to virtue that very many of them were the slaves of intemperance and such was their thirst for ardent spirits that they would make any sacrifice to obtain it and that therefore it was absolutes absolu absolutely tel y necessary in their present ignorant and enfeebled condition that they should abandon their present possessions and if possible obtain homes under the direction of their great father where they would be less liable to temptation and where the efforts of the government vern ment and the labors of the missionary would be exempt from the embarrassments embarrass ments which now surround them and that if they listened attentively and favorably it was to be hoped that in time an indian community might be found in the enjoyment of the blessin blessings ar of civilization and religion free from the alvish system of heathen idolatry under which all the fathers lived and to which a large portion of them appeared still to be attached they were shown that the acquisitions of california oregon and new mexico and their rapid settlement by the white children chil dien of their great father were not favorable to them thein in their present location that they were 10 the paths which led to these countries coin tries and that the almost |