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20   REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 
LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED. 
The act of Congress approved June 10, 1872, having provided for the 
sale of portions of the Omaha, Pawnee, Ottoe, and Missouria, and the 
whole of the Sac and Fox of the Missouri Indian reservations, on sealed 
bids, for cash, an appraisement was made of the Omaha and Paw, 
nee, which received the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and 
the Omaha lands were offered for sale last year. The bids were very 
few in number and for small tracts, so that awards were only made of 
300.72 acres. It was deemed inadvisable to again offer the lands upon 
the same terms, and therefore, on the 10th of December, 1873, the De- 
partment submitted to Congress the draught of a bill to amend the act 
of June 10, 1872, the object of which was to provide for the sale of any
of the lands described in said act, at not less than the appraised value
thereof, on the following conditions, viz, one-fourth cash in hand, the 
balance in three equal annual payments, drawing interest at 6 per cent. 
per annum from the day of sale; the purchaser to give bond with ade- 
quate security to commit no waste or damage, by the sale or destruction 
of timber, or otherwise, until the last payment should be made. Con- 
gress at its last session failed to enact the foregoing bill into a law,
and 
no further steps have been taken toward carrying out the provisions of 
the act of June 10, 1872. The Pawnees have recently removed to the 
Indian Territory south of Kansas, and have expressed the desire in 
open council, under date of October 8, 1874, that their entire reserve in
Nebraska should be sold. A bill will be prepared for submission to 
Congress embodying this proposed provision, and such legislation rela- 
tive to the disposition of the remaining reservations named in the act 
of June 10, 1872, as may be deemed advisable and proper. 
Modocs in the Indian Territory.-An agreement was made with the 
Eastern Shawnee Indians June 23,1874, whereby they cede to the United 
States, for a permanent home of the Modoc Indians, a tract of land em 
bracing 4,000 acres, situate in the northeast corner of the Shawnee reserve
in the Indian Territory, and for which it was agreed that the Shawnee 
should receive $6,000. There being no authority of law for such agree"
ment, it was not approved by the Department. A lease was subsei 
quently entered into and approved by the Department, in which th 
Shawnees lease to the United States for a term of five years, for the 
sum of $3,000, the tract of land in question for the use of said Modoc 
Indians. It is provided in said lease that, in the event of a ratification
by Congress of the agreement of June 23, 1874, the sum of $3,000 paid 
as rent under the lease shall be regarded as part of the purchase-mone y
under the said agreement. 
This sum of $3,000 was paid out of the appropriation, at the last ses, 
sion of Congress, for the settlement, &c., of the Modoc Indians in the
Indian Territory. I recommend that Congress be called upon to con+ 
firm the agreement of June 23, 1874, in order that the title to said tract'
of land may be vested in the United States, in trust for said Modoc In, 
dians. 
_Purchase of lands from Omaha Indians for use of 17innebagoes.-O, 
the 31st day of July, 1874, the chiefs of the Omaha tribe of Indians 
made and executed a deed of conveyance to the United States, in trusi 
for the Winnebago tribe of Indians in the State of Wisconsin. Tho 
deed embraces an area of 12,347.55 acres, taken from the north side ol 
the Omaha reserve in the State of Nebraska, for which the sum of