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286  REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 
break away and leave without notice. I would send and bring them back, but
could not 
keep them. The same can be said of those who were taken into the mill. I
think the only 
way to succeed in this business will be to take boys from the school as soon
as they have 
learned enough of the English language to meet the demands of their position.
THE CEUR DE ALfiNES AND SPOKANS. 
In making mention of the amount of wheat ground at the Lapwai mill, I spoke
of grind- 
ing for the Spokans and Cceur de Alenes. They have no mill of their own,
hence they come 
here, causing no small amount of trouble. Sometimes they come in bands of
fifty to one 
hundred souls, and bring with them four hundred to six hundred horses, (an
Indian has an 
idea that he cannot travel unless he takes all his horses with him,) which
are a nuisance. 
The Government ought to assist these Indians in some way. They seem disposed
to work, 
and if encouraged by the Government by giving them a saw and grist mill they
would un- 
doubtedly feel greatly encouraged, and it would, so far as these annual trips
are concerned, 
break up so much of their nomadic disposition. 
IN GENERAL. 
That portion of the tribe who remain at home and on the reserve are making
good pro. 
gress in civilized pursuits. As the Indian becomes civilized he should have
laws to govern 
him. In cases of murder, theft, polygamy, adultery, &c., they desire
the same to be pun- 
ished in accordance with our laws, and are constantly asking me why it cannot
be done. I 
would recommend that laws governing such matters be passed by Congress; that
all such 
cases be tried in the United States courts nearest an agency; and also some
law compelling 
white men to care for their half-breed children. A law declaring all whites
who are living 
with Indian women the same as married, and recognizing them as the lAwful
protectors of 
said women in all respects, ought to be passed. When General Shanks was here
one year 
ago we talked the above matter over, and he said he would use his earnest
endeavors to get 
such laws passed; but I did not see that any reference was made to the subject
during last 
Congress. All of which is respectfuilly submitted. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
JOHN B. MONTEITH, 
United States Indian Agent. 
Hon. EDW. P. SMIT-, 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C. 
INDIAN AGENCY, CAMP APACHE, ARIZONA TERRITORY, 
August 31, 1874. 
SIR: In compliance with instructions received from the Office of Indian Affairs,
Wash- 
ington, D. C., I have the honor to submit the following report relative to
affairs of this 
agency and the Indians under my charge: 
During the present year the Indians under my charge have been unusually docile,
and 
have given far less trouble than in any former year. They have remained upon
their reser- 
vation, and have not committed any depredations that I know of, and have
obeyed all orders 
from their agent. 
The sanitary condition of the Indians has been good until the past few months,
which 
have been very sickly. The Indians, and also the employes, have had the chills
and 
fever. This is owing, no doubt, to having had so much wet weather the past
winter and 
spring. Having no regular physician, I have had to administer to the sick
myself, and I 
have had as high as fifty cases of chills and fever in one day. I am in hopes
to be able, in a 
short time, to secure a regular physician for this agency. Every agency ought
to have its 
own pbysician ; then the sick could be properly attended to. 
The disposition of the Indians of this agency to do right is very good. It
is not hard to 
make them understand right from wrong. 
Last January this agency, on account of the bad condition of the roads, was
out of flour 
for two months, and no corn or flour to be had in this section. I called
the Indians to- 
gether, and through my interpreter informed them that in all probability
I would not be able 
to get any flour for them for two or three months, but if they would go with
me to the San 
Carlos agency, which was under my charge at that time, I would give them
sufficient flour 
to last them thirty days. They told me that they knew it was no fault of
mine or the Gov- 
ernment that I had no flour; but if I would issue them double rations of
beef until such 
time as I could get flour they would be satisfied. This I did, and not one
of them left the 
reservation. This, I think, speaks well for Indians who but two years ago
were on the war- 
path. 
Early in the spring I employed thirty-seven Indians, at 50 cents per day
each, to dig a 
"saque," and put them under charge of Mr. Whyte, head farmer of
this agency. The In- 
dians worked cheerfully, and dug a ditch above the agency three miles long
in a very short 
time. After finishing this ditch, they then went below the agency and dug
another one two 
miles long. The whole cost of digging both ditches, which carry sufficient
water to irrigate 
about 300 acres of land, was $1,650. If the work had to be done by contract
it would have