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Show SHERMAN'S SOLUTION. Fnrther Particulars of the General's Plan to Civilize the Red Man. A Farm for Erery Indian and the Balance of the Reservations to he Sold to Settlers. The Funds Thus Received Will More x Than Support the Entire In- dian Population. Sheridan's Solution of the Indian Question. Washington, January 3. In response to a request for additional information explanatory explan-atory to the recommendations of his last" annual report in regard to the Indian question, ques-tion, Lieutenant-General Sheridan has written writ-ten the following statement: . In my annnal report for 1885 I recommended recom-mended that each Indian family be given and located upon 320 acres now provided for them by law in case of actual settlement; that the government then condemn the remainder of each reservation and buy it in at $1.25 per acre, and with the proceeds purchase government govern-ment bonds to be held in trust by the Interior Inter-ior Department, giving to the Indians each year the interest on the bonds for their support. sup-port. I cited, in illustration of what would be the practical workings of this suggestion, the case of the Crows, the Cheyennes, the Arapahoes and the Utes, but the limits of my report did not permit a full elucidation of THE ADVANTAGES THAT WOULD AOCETJE TO THE - INDIAN, - Nor even an allusion to the large amount of land now lying idle that would thereby be opened to settlement, and the increase of so much material. nrosDeritv to the nation. When it is attempted to deal with this subject sub-ject more in detail, the difficulty is at once encountered in that neither the actual area of the various reservations has been accurately accur-ately determined nor the population of the Indians occupying them known within more than approximate limits. It will, therefore, not be possible to show the exact workings of the method proposed, but only a general summary covering the cases of the larger reservations in eaoh territory and the most populous of the different tribes. Similar statistics for smaller tribes are, however, included in-cluded in the accompanying tables. Since -appropriations for the support of the In-) dians are not in every case made specifically for those upon any particular reservation, but rather collectively for those inhabiting some State or Territory, in making comparison com-parison with the sum now required for the subsistence of the Indians and the annuities allowed them by treaty, the aggregate for a Territory or for several Territories has necessarily neces-sarily been considered rather than for each tribe or reservation. IN DAKOTA THE PRINCIPAL BESEBVATIONS Are Fort Berthold and those inhabited by the various bands of Sioux. Fort Berthold reservation, with an area of over 2,900,000 acres, has a population of 1,300 people. The others have an area of nearly 22,250.000 aores and a population of about 25,800. The carrying car-rying out of the proposals of my report would in the former case afford an annual income of over $140,000, and in the latter case the surplus unoccupied by the Indians of over 20,500,000 acres, or an extent of Territory Ter-ritory equal to the combined area of the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts Massa-chusetts and Connecticut the proceeds of which at 4 per cent, per annum would yield an interest of over $1,000,000. With two of the smaller reservations Devil's Lake and South Mountain area 276,480 acres, population popu-lation over 1,800 nearly half the land would be required by the Indians. In this case their income'from the surplus would be small, being a little less than $8,000 per annum. an-num. IN MONTANA THE BLACKFEET BESEEVATION Contains over 21,500,000 acres, and a population popu-lation of less than 7,000 Indians ; the surplus land is equal to the area of the State of Maine ; it would then return an income of $1,000,000. The Crow reservation, mentioned men-tioned in my report, could, in a similar manner, man-ner, be made to produce an annual sum of $223,000. Considering all the Indians and reservations in the Territories of Dakota and Montana, we have an aggregate area of over 54,500,000 acres and a population of less than 45,000. The surplus area of nearly 81,000 square miles would produce an annual interest of over $21,5C3,000. The appropriations for the fiscal year ending end-ing June 30, 1884, for fulfilling treaties with these tribes, and for their subsistence and civilization, and the pay of employes incident inci-dent to such undertaking, amounts to about $1C3,000 less than this sum. In Wyoming, the Shoshones are located upon the Wind Eiver reservation. One hundred and seventeen thousand dollars per year could be derived from their surplus land. IN IDAHO THE FOBT HALL B6SEBVATION. Occupied by the Bannocks and Shoshones, would in the same way produce each year $5,000, the Cceur d'Alene, $2,800. In these two Territories, Wyoming and Idaho, the total area of the reservations is nearly 5,000,000 acres, and the population nearly 6,000. An area of nearly 7,200 square miles, almost equal to the State of New Jersej', would not be required for the Indians, In-dians, and an income would be yielded of about $235,000, a sum more than $100,000 in excess of the appropriation for the current year. In Oregon, the most populous reservation is Klamath, with over a million acres, but less than 1,000 inhabitants. It would yield $30,000 a year. . In Washington Territory the Takimas, about 3,200 in number, occupy a reservation of 800.000 acres of the same name. Here the surplus land would bring but $30,C00 a year. In this State and Territory the reservations, reser-vations, with a total population of 16,000, embrace 8,400,00 acres, or about seven and one-third million acres more than would be required by them under the plan proposed, which would produce per annum $370,000, or about $300,000 more than is appropriated for these Indians. THE DIFFERENT BANDS OF UTES IN UTAH And Colorado number about 3,650, and their reservations include over 5,000,000 acres, of which the surplus portion would produce a yearly income of about $240,000, or about $175,000 more than is being disbursed this year for their benefit. In New Mexico, the Navajos, on the reservation reser-vation of the same name, have now over 8,000,000 acres for a population of 23,000 people. Here the surplus land would yield over $330,000. For the surplus lands of the Mescalero Apaches', reservation the income would be nearly $20,000. In Arizona the principal reservation is the White Mountain, with agency at San Carlos. It embraces more than 2 million acres. Considerable uncertainty exists as to its population, but there are probably about 3,003 in the vicinity of the agency and 2,000 more who have removed into the northern part, and are now engaged in farming and elf orfcs to make themselves self-supporting. The latter would, howeyer, be entitled to all the benefits obtained by agency Indians hi anv scheme looking to the promotion of then general prosperity. The carrying out of the proposals of my report would leave a balance of considerably over 2,000,000 acres, with, according to the plan advocated, about $110,-000 $110,-000 per year- Considering collectively THE INDIANS IN NEW MEXICO AND AKIZOXA, Who have reservations embracing 16,500,000 acres, inhabited by nearly 53,000 people, the surplus land would include about 13,750,000 acres, which would yield, according to the nlan proposed, nearly $640,000, a sum greater bv $350,000 than that appropriated for the current year for the support of these In- Inthe Indian Territory, the Cheyenne and Arnnahoes. Kiowa, Comanche and Wachita S embrace over 8.0CO OOO. acres; Emulation is about 7,750 The income ffonhe surplus land would come within $75,000 of equaling the amount appropriated. Considering all the Indians in this Territory, Terri-tory, we have a total of nearly 80,000 and an extent of reservation of 31,500,000 aores, which would produce an annual income of about one and one-third million dollars. The Indian reservations of the United States contain about 200,000 square miles. Their population is almost 260,000. Twenty-six thousand square miles would locate "each family upon a half -section of land, leaving a surplus of about 140,000 square miles, which, according to the plan I have proposed, would produce annually $4,480,000. This amount exceeds, by about $660,000, the entire en-tire sums appropriated for the payment of their annuities, and for their subsistence and civilization. THE POLICY ADVOCATED IN MY BEPOBT Would be most advantageously applied gradually; the general government of the Indians being continued according to methods now in vogue, or such improvement improve-ment of them as the times and experience may suggest. The ultimate development suggested by the policy would, as the Indians advanced in civilization and intelligence, result in a return to them of the principal derived from the sale of their lands, which, until such measures were authorized by an aot of Congress, Con-gress, would-be held as a trust for their benent and the income applied to their support. sup-port. . ; ; . |