Carl Schurz

“ While the government, therefore, must recognize its duty to protect the rights of the Indian, it should at the same time not forget that, during the period of transition from savage life to civilization, he stands very much in need of its care and guidance. That period is one of hope, but at the same time one of great danger. Then the picturesque, warlike, self-relying Indian of the wilderness gradually disappears. He enters into conditions and relations of life entirely new to him; his self-reliance gives way; he does not know whether that which he learns is good or evil ”

“ The very conditions of life among our people have undergone great changes. The interior movements of population have become more rapid and extensive, and half a million of square miles are now settled more or less densely, which in 1850 were unsurveyed, or even unexplored.
As the census of a great nation is a very practical work, into which theory and preconceived notions should enter as little as possible, it would seem that such great changes of condition, as well as the advances made meanwhile in the science of legislation and in the art of government, justify and require a new census law. ”

“ I would also repeat the recommendation made in former reports that the President be authorized to appoint a commission, composed of qualified persons, to study the laws and practices adopted in other countries for the preservation and cultivation of forests, and to report to Congress a plan for the same object, applicable to our circumstances. The time is fast approaching when forest-culture will be to the people of the United States as important a question as it is in older countries; and then it will be a subject of painful wonder to thinking men, how it could have been so long neglected. ”

“ The pressure of the white population upon Indian reservations, animated with this spirit, has, in fact, been the principal source of our Indian troubles. It is scarcely necessary to point out to fair-minded men the injustice and inhumanity of such principles, or to show to those who have the experience of the past before their eyes that to act upon those principles would not only be a great wrong to the race which was the original occupant of this continent, but must also lead to most costly and disastrous conflicts with them. ”

“ I look upon it as the most essential step in the solution of the Indian problem. It will inspire the Indians with a feeling of assurance as to the permanency of their ownership of the lands they occupy and cultivate; it will give them a clear and legal standing as landed proprietors in the courts of law; it will secure to them for the first time fixed homes under the protection of the same law under which white men own theirs; it will eventually open to settlement by white men the large tracts of land now belonging to the reservations, but not used by the Indians. ”

“ I am now convinced that generous appropriations for agricultural implements, for stock cattle to be distributed among Indians, and for educational facilities, made at this time, when the temper of our whole Indian population is such as to receive such aid in the right spirit, and to use the advantages conferred for general and rapid advancement, will produce results certain to accelerate the solution of the greatest difficulties we have so far been contending with, and, consequently, to bring about a great saving of money in the future. ”

“ The sudden and deplorable death of Chief Ouray, a man of advanced views, great sagacity, remarkable tact and noble impulses, indeed probably the wisest Indian of this generation, whose influence upon his people had always been in favor of peace, good order, and progress, seemed for a time to render the success of the labors of the commission doubtful. ”

“ How disastrously the destruction of the forests of a country affects the regularity of the water supply in its rivers necessary for navigation, increases the frequency of freshets and inundations, dries up springs, and transforms fertile agricultural districts into barren wastes, is a matter of universal experience the world over. It is the highest time that we should turn our earnest attention to this subject, which so seriously concerns our national prosperity.
The government cannot prevent the cutting of timber on land owned by private citizens. ”

“ Looking at the present condition of things it may be said, without exaggeration, that on the whole the Indian situation is now more hopeful than ever before. The desire of the Indians to maintain friendly relations with their white neighbors, to go to work for their own support, to cultivate the soil, to acquire permanent homes, to have their children educated, and to assimilate themselves to the civilization of the country, is growing stronger and more general every day. ”

“ That all the Indians on this northern continent have been savages and that many of them are savages now is true; but it is also true that many tribes have risen to a promising degree of civilization, and there is no reason to doubt that the rest, if wisely guided, will be found capable of following their example.
It is believed by many that the normal condition of the Indians is turbulence and hostility to the whites; that the principal object of an Indian policy must be to keep the Indians quiet; and that they can be kept quiet only by the constant presence and pressure of force. ”

“ An attempt to accomplish these objects at once all over the country, without the intermediate stages, by military force, would undoubtedly result in many cases in Indian wars of unprecedented magnitude and bitterness, which would require a much larger army than we at present possess, and prove in the end not only the most inhuman, but in blood and treasure the most expensive of all methods. ”

“ So it is clear that whatever virtue there may be in stock-raising, and however well adapted the Indian in the transition state might be to it, the pursuit of agriculture must necessarily accompany it to occupy the majority of them.
Farming is, of course, first begun on a small scale and in an imperfect way; but the number of Indians engaged in agricultural pursuits, the number of those who raise products sufficient for their own support and even a surplus for sale, and the aggregate quantity and value of these products, are probably larger than is generally understood. ”

“ Even in the States and Territories where the timber necessary for domestic and business purposes can be obtained only from the public lands, unless imported from a distance, a healthy public opinion seems to be springing up which recognizes that an indiscriminate destruction of the forests, and especially the denudation of the mountain slopes of the timber growth covering them, must inevitably result in incalculable and irreparable injury to the economical interests of those States and Territories, and become ultimately destructive to the prosperity of their people. ”

“ In every great government in the world that I know of, officers performing these functions would hold a rank high above that of mere clerks, a tenure not subject to the mere arbitrary pleasure of a superior officer, and salaries in proportion to the duties imposed upon them. Of the division chiefs in the Secretary's office and in the Indian office the same may be said. The consequence is that in many cases men, fully up to the requirements of their positions, find occasion to better their condition by going into the service of private corporations or becoming members of private business firms. ”

“ Whenever an Indian misconducts himself, or the greed or recklessness of white men provoke an Indian trouble, an outcry follows about the disgraceful remissness of the government, and it is at once proclaimed that we are as far as ever from the solution of the Indian problem.
No doubt the history of Indian management, under military as well as civil control, shows many instances of mistake, failure, and wrongdoing ”

“ It is obvious that the evacuation by the Indians of the region held for Indian settlement, and defended on that very ground against intruders, would be apt greatly to encourage and stimulate the projects of invasion which, although repeatedly repelled, are pursued by evil-disposed persons with persistent activity. The defense of the Indian Territory against that invasion would inevitably become much more precarious, and the breaking down of all barriers before the Indian tribes inhabiting the Territory are prepared for such an event, would, in all probability, be most disastrous to them. ”

“ In my opinion the withdrawal of as large as possible a number of Indian youths from the influences of their more or less savage home surroundings, their education and training in useful knowledge and arts in the very atmosphere of civilization, and after a few years so spent their return among their people as teachers and examples can hardly fail to produce a salutary effect upon the whole Indian population. It has frequently been said that young Indians so educated will, after their return, speedily relapse into the barbarous habits of their tribes and leave these acquirements unused. ”

“ Of all Indian tribes, the Sioux Nation has for a long time been regarded as the most important, not only on account of their numerical strength and warlike qualities, but also on account of their geographical location and the many conflicts which for years have disturbed our relations with them. One after another the different bands composing that nation have been pacified, until finally only one of their prominent men, Sitting Bull, and with him a number of restless spirits belonging to different bands, appear to be the only nucleus of a hostile organization. ”

“ Those who say so seem to forget that the condition of things in the British possessions on this continent has until recently been in an essential point different from that existing in the United States. In the British possessions the Indians occupied an immense territory, full of game, where they have long been permitted to roam at their pleasure, without being interfered with by the progress of settlement. There was comparatively little necessity on the part of the government of providing for the sustenance of the Indians, because they could almost wholly provide for themselves by hunting. ”

“ Expressions of an anxious desire on the part of the Indians belonging to the so-called wild tribes to have their children instructed in the ways of civilized life have grown so numerous and urgent, that the inadequacy of the means placed at the disposal of the department for this purpose has become particularly painful. I stated in my last report that mere day schools upon the Indian reservations have, in many respects, proved an insufficient agency for the education of Indian youth. ”

“ What the Indian Bureau needs, perhaps more than any other branch of the government, is a special service, composed of efficient agents, who, under the immediate control of the department, can move secretly, and can pounce upon the point to be investigated without premonition. I venture to express the hope that Congress will not refuse the appropriation asked for to serve this purpose. A proper use made of such an appropriation will not only improve the character of the service, but also be an efficient measure of economy. ”

“ With regard to the question whether the government has any constitutional power to extend such investigations over the several States, it is urged that “from every analogy of past legislation, Congress has clearly assumed to possess the requisite authority;” that “if it can investigate agricultural industry and maintain a department to execute that branch of inquiry, it can investigate mineral industry; if it can make a coast and geodetic survey over the whole United States, it can make a geological survey.” ”

“ On the occasion of my visit to the Pyramid Lake Reservation in Nevada, where I met several chiefs and headmen of the Pi-Utes, I discovered that among those Pi-Utes who were scattered among the white population and working for wages the desire to remove to the Malheur Agency did not exist, as had been represented to me; that, on the contrary, they wished to continue in their present condition. A great many of them are employed by white people in chopping wood or doing other jobs of work, for which they are sufficiently paid to make a living; thus they appear to be self-supporting. ”

“ But in the United States we have no longer a dividing line. The “Indian frontier” has virtually disappeared. Our Indian population is scattered over a vast extent of country into which the agricultural settlers, as well as the adventurous element of our people in quest of rapid gain have pushed their skirmishers in all possible directions. Wherever in the far West the enterprise of the whites advances, whites and Indians come into immediate contact and are “in one another's way.” ”

“ The duty which the law imposes on the department, of fixing the rates of compensation to be paid to enumerators, is one of great nicety and difficulty.
The conditions, geographical and other, of each section of the country which bear on the facility of enumeration are being thoroughly and systematically studied, in order that the greatest economy and efficiency of service may be combined with the highest attainable equity toward the agents of the government performing this arduous and responsible work. ”

“ It has been fully demonstrated that lands west of the one hundredth meridian are only fit for grazing purposes, and can only be utilized as grazing-lands when held in large tracts or ranges. The quantity of land required to support an animal by grazing alone is so great that it would be impossible to purchase the lands at the government price, or at any price that would look reasonable. The result is, that no lands are sold, and the stock-raisers occupy the lands without any legal rights, while the government and the railroad company get no compensation. ”

“ While the Indian question is discussed by conscientious and well-informed persons with good judgment and a fair appreciation of circumstances, and their praise and censure are alike valuable, the number of American citizens "who know all about Indian matters" without ever having given a moment's study to that large and complicated subject, has been incredibly great, and the readiness and volubility of their criticism, mostly condemnatory of everything that is done, seems inspired by an inexhaustible fertility of imagination as to facts. ”

“ The importance of the results of the collection and dissemination of such information as the geological survey would gather can scarcely be overestimated. Being now so fortunate as to have in the service of the government a corps of scientific men of signal ability and energy to undertake this important work, under a direction eminently capable to give system of action and harmony of purpose to their operations, there is but little doubt that the American people would willingly approve an expenditure small in proportion to the general benefit to be expected. ”

“ True philanthropy will use every effort to accomplish that which is really best for the Indians, to make those who are well settled stay quietly where they are, avail themselves of the means offered for their improvement, cultivate their fields and take good care of their stock, devote themselves to useful work, send their children to school, and submit to the discipline which is necessary for their advancement in civilized life. ”

“ The inspectors and superintendents, who are charged, among other things, with such duty, have in but rare instances been successful in ferreting out the wily expedients resorted to by dishonest contractors or agents. The records of the Indian Office bear out this assertion. When a superintendent or an inspeetor visits an agency, his coming is almost always known beforehand, so that there is time enough to conceal evidences of fraud and mismanagement. It is very like “catching birds with a brass band.” ”

“ The early colonists on this continent saw in the Indian tribes surrounding them a very formidable power, and naturally entered with them into formal treaty relations. That system has come by inheritance down to our days, when the Indians, under a radical change of circumstances, appear at the same time as “independent tribes,” as “national wards,” and as subjects. It is needless to recount the history of Indian treaties. As white settlements rapidly spread over the country treaties were, in a large number of instances, made only to be broken. ”

“ During the hard times now behind us many persons of ability have sought and obtained employment in the government offices; but now, since all the business interests of the country have revived and the salaries of able men in private concerns are rising again to a more remunerative point, the probability is that the government offices will be more and more drained of the ablest public servants, and that it will be difficult to fill their places unless their pay be made reasonably sufficient to compensate them for their work and they have the prospect of an assured tenure. ”

“ Of greater importance is the ascertained fact that the Indians have generally a strong dislike for military control—not for the mere reason that the presence of an armed force is distasteful to them, for the success of our Indian police system shows that they submit to the restraints imposed upon them by such a force with great willingness, and exercise the police regulations under the direction of prudent agents with great alacrity ”

“ The history of Indian management shows many failures and miscarriages, which patriotic citizens look back upon with keen regret; but it is a mistaken opinion that these failures and miscarriages would have been avoided had the control of Indian affairs been intrusted to another branch of the public service than that which now conducts it. The period during which the management of Indian affairs was in military hands need only be carefully studied to cure any fair-minded man of such a delusion. ”

“ The difficulties connected with what is called the “Indian problem” have been steadily growing from year to year, as the Western country formerly occupied as hunting grounds by Indians exclusively, is required for agricultural settlement and mining industry. In the same measure as white men and Indians more and more jostled one another their contact has been apt to result in collision. We are frequently told that the method followed by our Canadian neighbors in dealing with the Indians is much more successful than ours, and that we should shape our Indian policy after that model. ”

“ For many years no arms have been furnished to Indians by the government, except to those who were in the government’s service as scouts or policemen. By the present administration of Indian affairs the Indian traders, as well as all other persons on Indian reservations, have been strictly prohibited to sell arms or ammunition to the Indians, and that prohibition has been rigorously enforced. The only way in which Indians can obtain fire-arms and ammunition is by purchase from persons outside of the reservations, over whom the Indian service has no control. ”