Page View
United States. Office of Indian Affairs / Annual report of the commissioner of Indian affairs, for the year 1879
([1879])
[Report of agent in Kansas], pp. 81-84
PDF (2.0 MB)
Page 81
REPORT OF AGENT IN IOWA. 81 SAC AND Fox AGENCY, Tama County, Iowa, August 26, 1879. SIR: In accordance with instructions received from the Indian Bureau, I have the honor to submit a report of the condition of the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians in Iowa for the year ending August 31, 1879. The reservation of this tribe is located on the Iowa River, in Tama County, in Cen- tral Iowa. They have 692 acres, all under fence of wire and boards, subdivided into fields for pasturage and cultivation. They have 60 acres in tame grass, and 150 acres broken up, 100 acres of which are under cultivation this year; the balance was left un- cultivated, owing to the wet weather at planting-time and the lack of sufficient imple- ments to plow with. Their fields are all well cultivated, clean, and free from weeds. Thecrops are very good; they will have of corn about 600 bushels; of beans, 225 bushels; of potatoes, 70 bushels; of squash and pumpkins, 60 loads; they desire to cultivate double the quantity of land next year. They wish to purchase more land with their annuity money. Their idea in regard to farming is to raise sufficient crops of corn and vegetables for their own use, and to raise horses and stock for profit, and they are bet- ter adapted to raise horses and stock than anything else. They have a great desire to improve their stock with blooded and Norman breeds of horses. Their personal prop- erty is valued at about $15,000. The tribe numbers 345, there being 164 males and 181 females. There have been six deaths and ten birthjs during the year. Their village consists of about 31 houses, mainly built of bark and partly of boards. Their houses and grounds are kept very clean and neat. From all I can learn from persons living near the Indian reservation, the conduct of the Indians the past year has been very good-not a single crime committed on the whites or among themselves. They are very quiet and orderly, very kind to each other; the young men of the tribe deserve great praise for their good behavior during the year. There is very little drunkenness in the tribe, and every effort is made by the chiefs and council to suppress it. The women of the tribe are very well behaved, modest, and chaste.- The school-house is now occupied by the agency farmer and teacher. I have divided the school-room in two, one for my office and school-room for the young men, the other for the teacher for teaching the young women. These Indians have a great dislike to regular schools, and what we have to do to teach them has to be done in a general and irregular manner. In conclusion, I would say of this tribe that they are a smart, intelligent people, who have made great progress towards civilization in the last ten years, as much as could be reasonably expected for the aid and assistance they have had, and it will take a long time to entirely change their customs and habits. Steady, patient labor, kind and gen- erous treatment, will accomplish it in the end. GEO. L. DAVENPORT, United Stats Indian Agent. The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. OFFICE OF KANSAS AGENCY, POTTAWATOMIE RESERVE, KANSAS, September 20, 1879. SIR: In compliance with instructions received from the Office of Indian Affairs, under date of June 18, 1879, I herewith submit my first annual report of the condition of the Indian tribes in this agency. The jurisdiction of the agency embraces the tribes located in Kansas, consisting of the Prairie Band of Potlawatomies, numbering on their reserve 451 persons; the Kicka- .poos, numbering 239 persons; and the confederated bands of Chippewa and Mansee In- dians, numbering 62 persons; in addition to this aggregate of 752 Indians, there are about 290 Pottawatomies and 30 Kickapoos absent from their reserves without permis- sion. The reserve occupied by the Pottawatomie Indians contains 77.357.57 acres of land; is located in the boundaries of Jackson County, Kansas, about twelve miles north of the Kansas Pacific Railway. The soil is a rich, sandy loam, and is well watered by springs and running streams. Atmosphere is dry, with heavy winds in autumn and spring. About three-tenths of the area of this reserve is superior farming land, and the remainder is unsurpassed for grazing purposes. The Kickapoo Reserve, lying in Brown Countiy, Kansas, about five miles north of the Kansas Central Railway, embraces 20,273 acres of land, of very much the same charac- ter as the Pottawatomie Reserve, though, perhaps, a larger proportion is suitable for cultivation. The lands of the Chippewa and Munsee Indians, amounting to 4,395 acres, held by certificate title, are located in Franklin County, Kansas, near Ottawa City. 6 iND
As a work of the United States government, this material is in the public domain.| For information on re-use see: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Copyright