OCR Text |
Show Those who do not desire the extermination ex-termination of tho Indians, but their gradual incorporation into our social and political Bys terns havo a right to feel greatly eucouroged at the progress pro-gress made among them within tho last eight or nino years. The In&t report of tho board of Indian commissioners, com-missioners, not yet printed, shows that in 1S08 the houses occupied by Indians In-dians numbered but 7,470, while in -I87G 'they numbered 54,717. There were then on tho reservations but 111 Hchools; thcro are now 344. Thero were then 4,718 pupils attending at-tending echoo! ; there are now no less than 27,215 native scholars. Out ol about 206,000 Indians the ho:wd estimates that over 100, 0UO wear citizens' dress. The Indians raised then 126,117 bushels (of wheat and 167,363 of corn; in 187G they raised 463,054 busholsof wheat ami 2,229,463 bushels of corn. They owned in 1868 but 2,683 sheep and 20,890 swine; in 186 they owned 417,295 sheep and 214,076 hogs. All this is certainly very encouraging, and proves that under a proper policy which shall bold out some inducements to them to follow peaceful pursuits a Urge per cent, of the red mon may be saved to civilization. |