Page 140

140           REPORT    OF AGENT IN, NORTH       CAROLINA. 
were it not for the curse to the red man-whisky and hard cider-would become
useful 
citizens. 
I would earnestly urge that legislation be had so that hard cider be placed
by the 
United States statutes among the list of intoxicants. There is, I believe,
hundreds 
of barrels of hard cider sold every year to the Senecas, on the Cattaraugus
Reserva- 
tion alone, and under the present decisions of the United States courts it
is almost 
impossible to stop it. 
The season of 1883 being a cold, wet one the corn did not ripen and was a
complete 
failure; consequently there was a great deal of suffering on the Allegany,
Cattarau- 
gus, and Tonawanda Reservations, but through the energetic work of the Rev.
Mr. 
Tripp, the missionary in charge on the Cattaraugus Reservation, assisted
by his 4wife, 
and the hearty co-operation of Mrs. Laura Wright, the venerable widow of
the late 
Asher Wright, who has spent her life among the Senecas, there was no actual
st~rva- 
tion. Through the assistance of benevolent friends, especially in Buffalo,
seed-corn 
was furnished, and the present season promises an abundant harvest. 
The Indians under my charge are making fair progress. They are ifnproving
their 
farms and stock. Their cattle and horses will compare favorably with their
white 
neighbors. 
The financial affairs of the Senecas of Cattaraugus and Allegany Reservations
are 
in a bankrupt condition. The funds received from lands leased are squandered
by 
the councilors in useless legislation, and are largely used in bribery and
corruption, 
and have been the principal cause of the election litigation for the past
year. 
The nation is in debt thousands of dollars, their orders selling at 50 per
cent. dis- 
count, and there is no prospect of their paying their debts, unless there
is some change 
in the manner of collecting rents and accounting for moneys received. I would
rec- 
ommend that the collecting of rents be taken out of the hands of the Indians
entirely; 
but to do so will require additional legislation, i. e., an amendment of
the act of 
February 19, 1875, as that act makes it the duty of the treasurer of the
Seneca Nation 
to collect the rents in the villages on the Allegany Reservation. 
Very respectfully, 
W. PEACOCK, 
Indian Agent. 
The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 
NORTH CAROLINA CHEROKEE AGENCY, 
Nantahala, N. C., September 3, 1884. 
SIR: In accordance to your order I beg leave to submit this my second annual
re- 
port. 
I am of the opinion that the Indians of this agency are not going backwards,
but 
are advancing slowly towards that civilization so much desired by their triends.
The 
customs peculiar to the Indian are now almost things of the past as regards
the North 
Carolina Cherokeos; though at times some of them are induced and persuaded
by 
white men to have an Indian dance or ball play, but in these things they
get no en- 
couragement from their head men. 
A large majority of these people are firm believers in the Christian religion.
The 
schools, conducted by the Society of Friends for these people, have been
quite suc- 
cessful during the last year, and so far as I have been able to judge the
Cherokee 
,children in the boarding schools at Hendersonville, N. C., and at other
points have 
all made co)nsiderable progress, and will, no doubt, be a great advantage
to their peo- 
ple in the future. 
The grain crop raised by these Indians this year is hardly a full crop, but
this is on 
account of the unfavorable season more than the lack of industry. Yet I assure
you 
that if this people could get to believe that they must make their living
by honest 
toil, and the expectation of almost fabulous amounts of money from the Government
was eradicated from their minds many of them would do better than they are
now 
doing; and in my humble opinion the sooner the North Carolina Cherokee gets
his 
dues from the Government, be it much or little, and is made to know that
the world 
owes him a living provided he will go to work and make it, then he will begin
t& 
move alongside his white brother. 
The greatest annoyance to this people is the unsettled and complicated condition
of their titles to portions of their lands which have been entered and settled
by white 
men, and so far we have Ueen unable to get up title papers sufficient to
eject them. 
There has been some sickness and a few deaths among this people during the
last 
year, but no serious epidemic has prevailed among them. This people are much
in