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Post by mdenney on Apr 24, 2011 22:28:18 GMT -5
All taken out of this book above part1
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The proper treatment of the original occupants of this land--the
Indians--is one deserving of careful study. I will favor any course
toward them which tends to their civilization and ultimate citizenship.
The question of suffrage is one which is likely to agitate the public
so long as a portion of the citizens of the nation are excluded from
its privileges in any State. It seems to me very desirable that this
question should be settled now, and I entertain the hope and express
the desire that it may be by the ratification of the fifteenth article
of amendment to the Constitution.
In conclusion I ask patient forbearance one toward another throughout
the land, and a determined effort on the part of every citizen to do his
share toward cementing a happy union; and I ask the prayers of the
nation to Almighty God in behalf of this consummation.
MARCH 4, 1869.
[NOTE.--The Forty-first Congress, first session, met March 4, 1869,
in accordance with the act of January 22, 1867.]
=====================================================
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., June 3, 1869_.
A commission of citizens having been appointed under the authority of
law to cooperate with the administrative departments in the management
of Indian affairs, consisting of William Welsh, of Philadelphia; John V.
Farwell, of Chicago; George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia; Robert Campbell,
St. Louis; W.E. Dodge, New York; E.S. Tobey, Boston; Felix R. Brunot,
Pittsburg; Nathan Bishop, New York, and Henry S. Lane, of Indiana, the
following regulations will till further directions control the action of
said commission and of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in matters coming
under their joint supervision:
1. The commission will make its own organization and employ its own
clerical assistants, keeping its "necessary expenses of transportation,
subsistence, and clerk hire when actually engaged in said service"
within the amount appropriated therefor by Congress.
2. The commission shall be furnished with full opportunity to inspect
the records of the Indian Office and to obtain full information as to
the conduct of all parts of the affairs thereof.
3. They shall have full power to inspect, in person or by subcommittee,
the various Indian superintendencies and agencies in the Indian country,
to be present at payment of annuities, at consultations or councils with
the Indians, and when on the ground to advise superintendents and agents
in the performance of their duties.
4. They are authorized to be present, in person or by subcommittee, at
purchases of goods for Indian purposes, and inspect said purchases,
advising the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in regard thereto.
5. Whenever they shall deem it necessary or advisable that instructions
of superintendents or agents be changed or modified, they will
communicate such advice through the office of Commissioner of Indian
Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, and in like manner their
advice as to changes in modes of purchasing goods or conducting the
affairs of the Indian Bureau proper. Complaints against superintendents
or agents or other officers will in the same manner be forwarded to the
Indian Bureau or Department of the Interior for action.
6. The commission will at their board meetings determine upon the
recommendations to be made as to the plans of civilizing or dealing
with the Indians, and submit the same for action in the manner above
indicated, and all plans involving the expenditure of public money will
be acted upon by the Executive or the Secretary of the Interior before
expenditure is made under the same.
7. The usual modes of accounting with the Treasury can not be changed,
and all expenditures, therefore, must be subject to the approvals now
required by law and the regulations of the Treasury Department, and all
vouchers must conform to the same laws and requirements and pass through
the ordinary channels.
8. All the officers of the Government connected with the Indian service
are enjoined to afford every facility and opportunity to said commission
and their subcommittees in the performance of their duties, and to give
the most respectful heed to their advice within the limits of such
officers' positive instructions from their superiors; to allow such
commissioners full access to their records and accounts, and to
cooperate with them in the most earnest manner to the extent of their
proper powers in the general work of civilizing the Indians, protecting
them in their legal rights, and stimulating them to become industrious
citizens in permanent homes, instead of following a roving and savage
life.
9. The commission will keep such records or minutes of their proceedings
as may be necessary to afford evidence of their action, and will provide
for the manner in which their communications with and advice to the
Government shall be made and authenticated.
U.S. GRANT.
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From the foundation of the Government to the present the management
of the original inhabitants of this continent--the Indians--has been
a subject of embarrassment and expense, and has been attended with
continuous robberies, murders, and wars. From my own experience upon
the frontiers and in Indian countries, I do not hold either legislation
or the conduct of the whites who come most in contact with the Indian
blameless for these hostilities. The past, however, can not be undone,
and the question must be met as we now find it. I have attempted a new
policy toward these wards of the nation (they can not be regarded in any
other light than as wards), with fair results so far as tried, and which
I hope will be attended ultimately with great success. The Society of
Friends is well known as having succeeded in living in peace with the
Indians in the early settlement of Pennsylvania, while their white
neighbors of other sects in other sections were constantly embroiled.
They are also known for their opposition to all strife, violence,
and war, and are generally noted for their strict integrity and fair
dealings. These considerations induced me to give the management of
a few reservations of Indians to them and to throw the burden of the
selection of agents upon the society itself. The result has proven most
satisfactory. It will De found more fully set forth in the report of the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. For superintendents and Indian agents
not on the reservations, officers of the Army were selected. The reasons
for this are numerous. Where Indian agents are sent, there, or near
there, troops must be sent also. The agent and the commander of troops
are independent of each other, and are subject to orders from different
Departments of the Government. The army officer holds a position for
life; the agent, one at the will of the President. The former is
personally interested in living in harmony with the Indian and in
establishing a permanent peace, to the end that some portion of his life
may be spent within the limits of civilized society; the latter has no
such personal interest. Another reason is an economic one; and still
another, the hold which the Government has upon a life officer to secure
a faithful discharge of duties in carrying out a given policy.
The building of railroads, and the access thereby given to all the
agricultural and mineral regions of the country, is rapidly bringing
civilized settlements into contact with all the tribes of Indians. No
matter what ought to be the relations between such settlements and the
aborigines, the fact is they do not harmonize well, and one or the other
has to give way in the end. A system which looks to the extinction of a
race is too horrible for a nation to adopt without entailing upon itself
the wrath of all Christendom and engendering in the citizen a disregard
for human life and the rights of others, dangerous to society. I see no
substitute for such a system, except in placing all the Indians on large
reservations, as rapidly as it can be done, and giving them absolute
protection there. As soon as they are fitted for it they should be
induced to take their lands in severalty and to set up Territorial
governments for their own protection. For full details on this subject
I call your special attention to the reports of the Secretary of the
Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
U.S. GRANT.
There is more to the above but not about indians
mdenney
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EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 4, 1870_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
For the reasons stated in the accompanying communication from the
Secretary of the Interior, I respectfully request to withdraw the
treaties hereinafter mentioned, which are now pending before the Senate:
First. Treaty concluded with the Great and Little Osages May 27, 1868.
Second. Treaty concluded with the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri and
Iowa tribes of Indians February 11, 1869.
Third. Treaty concluded with the Otoc and Missouria Indians February 13,
1869.
Fourth. Treaty concluded with the Kansas or Kaw Indians March 13, 1869.
U.S. GRANT.
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WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1870_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant,
requesting to be informed "if any officer of the Government has,
contrary to the treaty of July 19, 1866, with the Cherokee Nation,
enforced or sought to enforce the payment of taxes by Cherokees on
products manufactured in the Cherokee Nation and sold within the Indian
Territory," I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, to
whom the resolution was referred.
U.S. GRANT.
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EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., March 8, 1870_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
Herewith I have the honor to transmit a communication from the Secretary
of the Interior, relative to the obligation of Congress to make the
necessary appropriations to carry out the Indian treaties made by what
is known as the Peace Commission of 1867.
The history of those treaties and the consequences of noncompliance with
them by the Government are so clearly set forth in this statement that
I deem it better to communicate it in full than to ask the necessary
appropriation in a shorter statement of the reasons for it. I earnestly
desire that if an Indian war becomes inevitable the Government of the
United States at least should not be responsible for it. Pains will be
taken, and force used if necessary, to prevent the departure of the
expeditions referred to by the Secretary of the Interior.
U.S. GRANT.
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EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., March 14, 1870_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
In reply to your resolution of the 14th of February, requesting to be
informed whether I desire that any of the Indian treaties now pending
before you be considered confidentially, I have to inform you that there
are none of them which I object to having discussed in open session.
U.S. GRANT.
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EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 6, 1870_.
_To the House of Representatives:_
In answer to your resolution of the 7th ultimo, requesting to be
furnished with a copy of orders, correspondence, reports of councils
with Indians by military and civil officers of the Government, in
possession of the Interior and War Departments, relating to difficulties
with the Cheyenne, Comanche, Arapahoe, Apache, and Kiowa tribes of
Indians during the year 1867, etc., I herewith transmit the reports
received from those Departments.
U.S. GRANT.
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WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 15, 1870_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
Your attention is respectfully called to the necessity of passing an
Indian appropriation bill before the members of Congress separate.
Without such appropriation Indian hostilities are sure to ensue, and
with them suffering, loss of life, and expenditures vast as compared
with the amount asked for.
U.S. GRANT.
there was more to this but not about the indians
mdenney
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SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 5, 1870_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
Reform in the management of Indian affairs has received the special
attention of the Administration from its inauguration to the present
day. The experiment of making it a missionary work was tried with a few
agencies given to the denomination of Friends, and has been found to
work most advantageously. All agencies and superintendencies not so
disposed of were given to officers of the Army. The act of Congress
reducing the Army renders army officers ineligible for civil positions.
Indian agencies being civil offices, I determined to give all the
agencies to such religious denominations as had heretofore established
missionaries among the Indians, and perhaps to some other denominations
who would undertake the work on the same terms--i.e. as a missionary
work. The societies selected are allowed to name their own agents,
subject to the approval of the Executive, and are expected to watch over
them and aid them as missionaries, to Christianize and civilize the
Indian, and to train him in the arts of peace. The Government watches
over the official acts of these agents, and requires of them as strict
an accountability as if they were appointed in any other manner.
I entertain the confident hope that the policy now pursued will in a
few years bring all the Indians upon reservations, where they will live
in houses, and have schoolhouses and churches, and will be pursuing
peaceful and self-sustaining avocations, and where they may be visited
by the law-abiding white man with the same impunity that he now visits
the civilized white settlements. I call your special attention to the
report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for full information on
this subject.
During the last fiscal year 8,095,413 acres of public land were disposed
of. Of this quantity 3,698,910.05 acres were taken under the homestead
law and 2,159,515.81 acres sold for cash. The remainder was located with
military warrants, college or Indian scrip, or applied in satisfaction
of grants to railroads or for other public uses. The entries under the
homestead law during the last year covered 961,545 acres more than those
during the preceding year. Surveys have been vigorously prosecuted to
the full extent of the means applicable to the purpose. The quantity of
land in market will amply supply the present demand. The claim of the
settler under the homestead or the preemption laws is not, however,
limited to lands subject to sale at private entry. Any unappropriated
surveyed public land may, to a limited amount, be acquired under the
former laws if the party entitled to enter under them will comply
with the requirements they prescribe in regard to the residence and
cultivation. The actual settler's preference right of purchase is even
broader, and extends to lands which were unsurveyed at the time of his
settlement. His right was formerly confined within much narrower limits,
and at one period of our history was conferred only by special statutes.
They were enacted from time to time to legalize what was then regarded
as an unauthorized intrusion upon the national domain. The opinion that
the public lands should be regarded chiefly as a source of revenue is no
longer maintained. The rapid settlement and successful cultivation of
them are now justly considered of more importance to our well-being than
is the fund which the sale of them would produce. The remarkable growth
and prosperity of our new States and Territories attest the wisdom
of the legislation which invites the tiller of the soil to secure a
permanent home on terms within the reach of all. The pioneer who incurs
the dangers and privations of a frontier life, and thus aids in laying
the foundation of new commonwealths, renders a signal service to his
country, and is entitled to its special favor and protection. These laws
secure that object and largely promote the general welfare. They should
therefore be cherished as a permanent feature of our land system.
Good faith requires us to give full effect to existing grants. The
time-honored and beneficent policy of setting apart certain sections
of public land for educational purposes in the new States should be
continued. When ample provision shall have been made for these objects,
I submit as a question worthy of serious consideration whether the
residue of our national domain should not be wholly disposed of under
the provisions of the homestead and preemption laws.
In addition to the swamp and overflowed lands granted to the States in
which they are situated, the lands taken under the agricultural-college
acts and for internal-improvement purposes under the act of September,
1841, and the acts supplemental thereto, there had been conveyed up to
the close of the last fiscal year, by patent or other equivalent title,
to States and corporations 27,836,257.63 acres for railways, canals, and
wagon roads. It is estimated that an additional quantity of 174,735,523
acres is still due under grants for like uses. The policy of thus aiding
the States in building works of internal improvement was inaugurated
more than forty years since in the grants to Indiana and Illinois, to
aid those States in opening canals to connect the waters of the Wabash
with those of Lake Erie and the waters of the Illinois with those of
Lake Michigan. It was followed, with some modifications, in the grant to
Illinois of alternate sections of public land within certain limits of
the Illinois Central Railway. Fourteen States and sundry corporations
have received similar subsidies in connection with railways completed
or in process of construction. As the reserved sections are rated
at the double minimum, the sale of them at the enhanced price has
thus in many instances indemnified the Treasury for the granted lands.
The construction of some of these thoroughfares has undoubtedly given a
vigorous impulse to the development of our resources and the settlement
of the more distant portions of the country. It may, however, be well
insisted that much of our legislation in this regard has been
characterized by indiscriminate and profuse liberality. The United
States should not loan their credit in aid of any enterprise undertaken
by States or corporations, nor grant lands in any instance, unless the
projected work is of acknowledged national importance. I am strongly
inclined to the opinion that it is inexpedient and unnecessary to bestow
subsidies of either description; but should Congress determine otherwise
I earnestly recommend that the right of settlers and of the public be
more effectually secured and protected by appropriate legislation.
During the year ending September 30, 1870, there were filed in the
Patent Office 19,411 applications for patents, 3,374 caveats, and 160
applications for the extension of patents. Thirteen thousand six hundred
and twenty-two patents, including reissues and designs, were issued,
1,010 extended, and 1,089 allowed, but not issued by reason of the
non-payment of the final fees. The receipts of the office during the
fiscal year were $136,304.29 in excess of its expenditures.
The work of the Census Bureau has been energetically prosecuted. The
preliminary report, containing much information of special value and
interest, will be ready for delivery during the present session. The
remaining volumes will be completed with all the dispatch consistent
with perfect accuracy in arranging and classifying the returns. We shall
thus at no distant day be furnished with an authentic record of our
condition and resources. It will, I doubt not, attest the growing
prosperity of the country, although during the decade which has just
closed it was so severely tried by the great war waged to maintain its
integrity and to secure and perpetuate our free institutions.
During the last fiscal year the sum paid to pensioners, including the
cost of disbursement, was $27,780,811.11, and 1,758 bounty-land warrants
were issued. At its close 198,686 names were on the pension rolls.
The labors of the Pension Office have been directed to the severe
scrutiny of the evidence submitted in favor of new claims and to the
discovery of fictitious claims which have been heretofore allowed. The
appropriation for the employment of special agents for the investigation
of frauds has been judiciously used, and the results obtained have been
of unquestionable benefit to the service.
The subjects of education and agriculture are of great interest to the
success of our republican institutions, happiness, and grandeur as a
nation. In the interest of one a bureau has been established in the
Interior Department--the Bureau of Education; and in the interest of
the other, a separate Department, that of Agriculture. I believe great
general good is to flow from the operations of both these Bureaus if
properly fostered. I can not commend to your careful consideration too
highly the reports of the Commissioners of Education and of Agriculture,
nor urge too strongly such liberal legislation as to secure their
efficiency.
In conclusion I would sum up the policy of the Administration to be a
thorough enforcement of every law; a faithful collection of every tax
provided for; economy in the disbursement of the same; a prompt payment
of every debt of the nation; a reduction of taxes as rapidly as the
requirements of the country will admit; reductions of taxation and
tariff, to be so arranged as to afford the greatest relief to the
greatest number; honest and fair dealings with all other peoples, to the
end that war, with all its blighting consequences, may be avoided, but
without surrendering any right or obligation due to us; a reform in the
treatment of Indians and in the whole civil service of the country;
and finally, in securing a pure, untrammeled ballot, where every man
entitled to cast a vote may do so, just once at each election, without
fear of molestation or proscription on account of his political faith,
nativity, or color.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 29: See pp. 86-89.]
[Footnote 30: See pp. 89-92.]
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EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 30, 1871_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I transmit herewith an official copy of the proceedings of the council
of Indian tribes held at Ocmulgee in December last, which resulted in
the adoption of a declaration of rights and a constitution for their
government, together with a copy of the report of the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs and the views of the Secretary of the Interior thereon.
It would seem highly desirable that the civilized Indians of the country
should be encouraged in establishing for themselves forms of Territorial
government compatible with the Constitution of the United States and
with the previous customs toward communities lying outside of State
limits.
I concur in the views expressed by the Secretary of the Interior,
that it would not be advisable to receive the new Territory with the
constitution precisely as it is now framed. As long as a Territorial
form of government is preserved, Congress should hold the power of
approving or disapproving of all legislative action of the Territory,
and the Executive should, with "the advice and consent of the Senate,"
have the power to appoint the governor and judicial officers (and
possibly some others) of the Territory.
This is the first indication of the aborigines desiring to adopt
our form of government, and it is highly desirable that they become
self-sustaining, self-relying, Christianized, and civilized. If
successful in this their first attempt at Territorial government, we may
hope for a gradual concentration of other Indians in the new Territory.
I therefore recommend as close an adherence to their wishes as is
consistent with safety.
It might be well to limit the appointment of all Territorial officials
appointed by the Executive to native citizens of the Territory. If any
exception is made to this rule, I would recommend that it should be
limited to the judiciary.
It is confidently hoped that the policy now being pursued toward the
Indian will fit him for self-government and make him desire to settle
among people of his own race where he can enjoy the full privileges of
civil and enlightened government.
U.S. GRANT.
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Post by mdenney on Apr 24, 2011 22:29:21 GMT -5
part 2
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EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1871_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I transmit herewith an extract of a paper addressed to the President,
the Secretary of the Interior, and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs by
the committee of Friends on Indian affairs having charge of the northern
superintendency, in relation to a desire of certain Indian tribes to
sell a portion of the lands owned by them, with a view of locating on
other lands that they may be able to purchase, together with the report
of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs thereon and a letter of the
Secretary of the Interior Department approving the report of the
Commissioner.
I submit the draft of a bill which has been prepared, and which it is
believed will effect the object desired by the committee, and request
the consideration thereof by Congress.
U.S. GRANT.
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EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 10, 1871_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I submit herewith, for the information of Congress, the second annual
report of the Board of Indian Commissioners to the Secretary of the
Interior.
U.S. GRANT.
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THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 4, 1871_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
The policy pursued toward the Indians has resulted favorably, so far
as can be judged from the limited time during which it has been in
operation. Through the exertions of the various societies of Christians
to whom has been intrusted the execution of the policy, and the board of
commissioners authorized by the law of April 10, 1869, many tribes of
Indians have been induced to settle upon reservations, to cultivate the
soil, to perform productive labor of various kinds, and to partially
accept civilization. They are being cared for in such a way, it is
hoped, as to induce those still pursuing their old habits of life to
embrace the only opportunity which is left them to avoid extermination.
I recommend liberal appropriations to carry out the Indian peace policy,
not only because it is humane, Christianlike, and economical, but
because it is right.
I recommend to your favorable consideration also the policy of granting
a Territorial government to the Indians in the Indian Territory west
of Arkansas and Missouri and south of Kansas. In doing so every right
guaranteed to the Indian by treaty should be secured. Such a course
might in time be the means of collecting most of the Indians now between
the Missouri and the Pacific and south of the British possessions into
one Territory or one State. The Secretary of the Interior has treated
upon this subject at length, and I commend to you his suggestions.
I renew my recommendation that the public lands be regarded as a
heritage to our children, to be disposed of only as required for
occupation and to actual settlers. Those already granted have been in
great part disposed of in such a way as to secure access to the balance
by the hardy settler who may wish to avail himself of them, but caution
should be exercised even in attaining so desirable an object.
Educational interest may well be served by the grant of the proceeds of
the sale of public lands to settlers. I do not wish to be understood as
recommending in the least degree a curtailment of what is being done by
the General Government for the encouragement of education.
The report of the Secretary of the Interior submitted with this will
give you all the information collected and prepared for publication in
regard to the census taken during the year 1870; the operations of the
Bureau of Education for the year; the Patent Office; the Pension Office;
the Land Office, and the Indian Bureau.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 48: See pp. 134-135.]
[Footnote 49: See pp. 135-136.]
[Footnote 50: See pp. 136-138.]
========================================================
WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1872_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I herewith communicate to the Senate a report from the Acting Secretary
of the Interior of this date, in answer to the resolution of that body
adopted on the 23d ultimo, calling for information relative to the
recent affray at the court-house in Going Snake district, Indian
Territory.
In view of the feeling of hostility which exists between the Cherokees
and the United States authorities of the western district of Arkansas,
it seems to be necessary that Congress should adopt such measures as
will tend to allay that feeling and at the same time secure the
enforcement of the laws in that Territory.
I therefore concur with the Acting Secretary of the Interior in
suggesting the adoption of a pending bill for the erection of a judicial
district within the Indian Territory, as a measure which will afford the
most immediate remedy for the existing troubles.
U.S. GRANT.
==============================================================
INDIANS.
The policy which was adopted at the beginning of this Administration
with regard to the management of the Indians has been as successful
as its most ardent friends anticipated within so short a time. It has
reduced the expense of their management; decreased their forays upon
the white settlements; tended to give the largest opportunity for
the extension of the great railways through the public domain and the
pushing of settlements into more remote districts of the country, and at
the same time improved the condition of the Indians. The policy will be
maintained without any change excepting such as further experience may
show to be necessary to render it more efficient.
The subject of converting the so-called Indian Territory south of Kansas
into a home for the Indian, and erecting therein a Territorial form of
government, is one of great importance as a complement of the existing
Indian policy. The question of removal to that Territory has within the
past year been presented to many of the tribes resident upon other and
less desirable portions of the public domain, and has generally been
received by them with favor. As a preliminary step to the organization
of such a Territory, it will be necessary to confine the Indians now
resident therein to farms of proper size, which should be secured to
them in fee; the residue to be used for the settlement of other friendly
Indians. Efforts will be made in the immediate future to induce the
removal of as many peaceably disposed Indians to the Indian Territory as
can be settled properly without disturbing the harmony of those already
there. There is no other location now available where a people who are
endeavoring to acquire a knowledge of pastoral and agricultural pursuits
can be as well accommodated as upon the unoccupied lands in the Indian
Territory. A Territorial government should, however, protect the Indians
from the inroads of whites for a term of years, until they become
sufficiently advanced in the arts and civilization to guard their own
rights, and from the disposal of the lands held by them for the same
period.
LANDS.
During the last fiscal year there were disposed of out of the public
lands 11,864,975 acres, a quantity greater by 1,099,270 acres than was
disposed of the previous year. Of this amount 1,370,320 acres were
sold for cash, 389,460 acres located with military warrants, 4,671,332
acres taken for homesteads, 693,613 acres located with college scrip,
3,554,887 acres granted to railroads, 465,347 acres granted to wagon
roads, 714,255 acres given to States as swamp land, 5,760 acres located
by Indian scrip. The cash receipts from all sources in the Land Office
amounted to $3,218,100. During the same period 22,016,608 acres of
the public lands were surveyed, which, added to the quantity before
surveyed, amounts to 583,364,780 acres, leaving 1,257,633,628 acres
of the public lands still unsurveyed.
U.S. GRANT.
They is more on this part above but I didnt see it had anything to do
with indians
mdenney
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THIS IS WHERE I TRIED TO DO SOME COPYS OF THIS BOOK TO SHOW ALL
THINGS ON INDIANS BY GRANT
TO tie top part of booh to bottom part of book
Secretary of the
Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1871_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I transmit herewith an extract of a paper addressed to the President,
the Secretary of the Interior, and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs by
the committee of Friends on Indian affairs having charge of the northern
superintendency, in relation to a desire of certain Indian tribes to
sell a portion of the lands owned by them, with a view of locating on
other lands that they may be able to purchase, together with the report
of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs thereon and a letter of the
Secretary of the Interior Department approving the report of the
Commissioner.
I submit the draft of a bill which has been prepared, and which it is
believed will effect the object desired by the committee, and request
the consideration thereof by Congress.
U.S. GRANT.
================================
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 23, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
3d of February last, requesting the President "to require a competent,
experienced military officer of the United States to execute the duties
of an Indian agent so far as to repair to the Red Cloud Agency, and, in
his discretion, other Sioux agencies, with instructions to inquire into
the causes of" the exhaustion of the appropriation for the subsistence
and support of the Sioux Indians for the present fiscal year; "as also
his opinion as to whether any further and what amount should be
appropriated for the subsistence and support of said Indians for the
remainder of the current fiscal year," I have the honor to transmit
herewith the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt, of the Ninth Cavalry,
who was charged by the Secretary of War with the duty of making the
inquiries called for by said resolution.
U.S. GRANT.
============================================
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 109: Relating to hostile demonstrations of the Sioux Indians
and the disaster to the forces under General Custer.]
===============================================
Washington, D.C., August 14, 1876_.
The HONORABLE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
SIR: I have the honor to return herewith, in accordance with your verbal
request, a bill entitled "An act to provide for the sale of a portion of
the reservation of the confederated Otoe and Missouria and the Sacs and
Foxes of the Missouri tribes of Indians, in the States of Kansas and
Nebraska," with my views thereon, the same having passed both Houses of
Congress and now awaits the approval of the President.
This above points out what would be needed to take the land in minnesota
mdenney
====================================================================================
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _November 23, 1876_.
A joint resolution adopted by Congress August 5, 1876, declares that--
Whereas it is ascertained that the hostile Indians of the Northwest are
largely equipped with arms which require special metallic cartridges,
and that such special ammunition is in large part supplied to such
hostile Indians, directly or indirectly, through traders and others in
the Indian country: Therefore,
_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That the President of the
United States is hereby authorized and requested to take such measures
as in his judgment may be necessary to prevent such special metallic
ammunition being conveyed to such hostile Indians, and is further
authorized to declare the same contraband of war in such district of
country as he may designate during the continuance of hostilities.
To carry into effect the above-cited resolution, the sale of fixed
ammunition or metallic cartridges by any trader or other person in
any district of the Indian country occupied by hostile Indians, or
over which they roam, is hereby prohibited; and all such ammunition or
cartridges introduced into said country by traders or other persons,
and that are liable in any way or manner, directly or indirectly, to
be received by such hostile Indians, shall be deemed contraband of war,
seized by any military officer and confiscated; and the district of
country to which this prohibition shall apply during the continuance
of hostilities is hereby designated as that which embraces all Indian
country, or country occupied by Indians or subject to their visits,
lying within the Territories of Montana, Dakota, and Wyoming and the
States of Nebraska and Colorado.
U.S. GRANT.
===============================================
The report of the Secretary of War shows that the Army has been actively
employed during the year in subduing, at the request of the Indian
Bureau, certain wild bands of the Sioux Indian Nation and in preserving
the peace at the South during the election. The commission constituted
under the act of July 24, 1876, to consider and report on the "whole
subject of the reform and reorganization of the Army" met in August
last, and has collected a large mass of statistics and opinions bearing
on the subject before it. These are now under consideration, and their
report is progressing. I am advised, though, by the president of the
commission that it will be impracticable to comply with the clause of
the act requiring the report to be presented, through me, to Congress
on the first day of this session, as there has not yet been time for
that mature deliberation which the importance of the subject demands.
Therefore I ask that the time of making the report be extended to the
29th day of January, 1877.
=============================================
By the act of August 15, 1876, the cavalry force of the Army was
increased by 2,500 men, with the proviso that they should be discharged
on the expiration of hostilities. Under this authority the cavalry
regiments have been strengthened, and a portion of them are now in the
field pursuing the remnants of the Indians with whom they have been
engaged during the summer
================================================
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 14, 1876_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In answer to a resolution of the 7th instant of the House of
Representatives, asking to be informed whether any, and what,
negotiations have or are being made with the Sioux Indians for their
removal to the Indian Territory, and under what authority the same has
been and is being done, I submit herewith a report received from the
Secretary of the Interior, which contains, it is believed, all the
information in possession of his Department touching the matter of the
resolution.
U.S. GRANT.
==================================================
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 22, 1876_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter, submitted by the
Secretary of the Interior, from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
accompanied by the report and journal of proceedings of the commission
appointed on the 24th day of August last to obtain certain concessions
from the Sioux Indians, in accordance with the provisions contained in
the Indian appropriation act for the current fiscal year.
I ask your special consideration of these articles of agreement, as
among other advantages to be gained by them is the clear right of
citizens to go into a country of which they have taken possession and
from which they can not be excluded.
U.S. GRANT.
=====================================================
Our superiority of strength and advantages of civilization
should make us lenient toward the Indian. The wrong inflicted upon him
should be taken into account and the balance placed to his credit. The
moral view of the question should be considered and the question asked,
Can not the Indian be made a useful and productive member of society by
proper teaching and treatment? If the effort is made in good faith, we
will stand better before the civilized nations of the earth and in our
own consciences for having made it.
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