Page 276

276 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 
be erected some three miles down the river, near the tillable land of the
"bottom."  The 
warehouse has been rendered serviceable for the reception of the Indian goods
this fall. The 
dwelling-houses have yet to be repaired to render them fit for winter. The
stockade is past 
repair, and must be entirely rebuilt. The matter of the removal of the agency
should be 
decided at once, and the agent should be informed whether an appropriation
of money will 
be made for putting up new buildings, for it will be necessary to make very
thorough 
repairs upon the present ones if they are to be occupied another season.
Very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 
E. H. DANFORTH, 
United States Indian Agent. 
Hon. E. P. SMITH, 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C. 
UINTAII VALLEY AGENCY, UTAH TERRITORY, 
September 22, 1874. 
SIR : In obedience to instructions contained in Department circular of August
17, I sub- 
mit the following as my fourth annual report of the agency under my charge:
I am pleased to be able to state that the quiet and general prosperity indicated
in my last 
report still continues, and that what was then true relative to the progress
of my Indians 
in agricultural industry is eminently so now. What was stated relative to
their progress in 
civilization, with distrust and diffidence, can now be affirmed with a good
degree of assurance. 
The same salutary influences that were at work then have continued to produce
results in 
a more noticeable degree. 
INDIANS-THEIR NUMBER, INDUSTRY, CIVILIZATION, HEALTH, ETC. 
It will be noticed by my statistical report that the number of our Indians
is less than that 
given last year, being made to conform to the enumeration made by Richard
Komas last fall 
and received after my report was written. His enumeration, as given in Messrs.
Ingalls 
and Powell's report, was 556, which, with the estimated increase, makes our
present number 
575. It is my opinion, as well as that of my late interpreter and others,
that, although the 
report of Mr. Komas embraces as many Indians as are at our agency at any
one time, yet 
it does not embrace as many as make our agency their rallying point and headquarters
dur- 
ing the year, hence I am still inclined to think that my estimate, viz, 800,
as given in my 
last report, was not too high. 
Our Indians have shown a marked improvement in their industrial habits. More
of them 
than at any former period have engaged in farming. The results to those who
engaged in 
cultivating the soil last year was so satisfactory and so manifest, that
many of those whom 
we were accustomed to regard as the most hopeless cases have engaged in agriculture
with 
very encouraging results. There is not only an increase in the amount of
labor performed, 
but also an improvement in the skill and efficiency of those who labor, as
wel. as a very con- 
siderable increase in the products ot their labor. For an estimate of the
products of the In 
dian and agency farms I refer to my statistical report herewith 
But our Indians have not confined their labors to the cultivation of the
soil ; they have 
made more than 600 rods of fence, cutting, hauling, and laying up the poles
themselves. 
Such labor was never performed by them before on this agency, and as it was
done per- 
fectly voluntarily, we regard it as an evidence of decided progress, and
as affording good 
ground for hope in the future. 
The progress of our Indians in or toward civilization, it must still be admitted,
is slow, 
but we think steady and marked. The better element among them seems to be
gaining 
strength, and their wild habits and usages generally falling into disuse;
they are more and 
more disposed to adopt civilized habits and dress-to submit to authority
and be guided 
by the advice of the Government and its agents. 
There is a general kindness of manner and expression indicative of the breaking
up of the 
stoical and savage nature, showing a gradual preparation for the more active
and efficient 
elements of civilization and Christianity. " Polygamy, however, and
other evidences of bar- 
barism still exist and show themselves. but we think not quite so boldly
as formerly. They 
have still very inadequate ideas in regard to chastity or the obligations
of the marriage relation. 
Their health has generally been good, better we think than last year, though
there have been 
more deaths, thosethat have occurred being mostly from chronic diseases.
We think the im- 
provement in general health results from their improved industrial habits
and regular means 
of subsistence. Most of our Indians have remained on the reservation, attending
more dili- 
gently to their crops than usual. Some small bands have gone on hunting and
visiting expe- 
ditions, but have usually made arrangements with some of their friends to
attend to their 
crops in their absence.