93 
.C36 



CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 



RELATION TO THE 



ADMINISTRATION 



OP 



INDIAN AFFAIRS 



RICHMOND : 
CATM*JL,IC VISITOB 
1882. 



. -' 



CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

o 



IN RELATION TO THE 



ADMINISTRATION 



OF 



OT)IANAFFAIKS 



BEING A REPORT PRESENTED TO THE CATHOLIC YOUNG MEN'S 

NATIONAL UNION, AT ITS EIGHTH ANNUAL CONVEN 

TION, HELD IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 

MAY 10TH AND llTH, 1882. 




'.&. jt***^ 



LO! THE POOR INDIA 1ST!" 



RICHMOND : 
CATHOLIC VISITOR PRINT, 

1882, 



Bancroft Library 



TO THE READER. 



The following brief historical sketch of the working of the In- 
ilian Peace Policy, in so far as it aftects Catholic Indians and 
Catholic Missionary labor among the tribes, is a Keport presented 
to the Catholic Young Men's National Union, at its recent con 
vention, held at Boston, Mass., by the special committee appointed 
to consider the matter. The Convention ordered its publication r 
in pamphlet form, for circulation among the members of the asso 
ciations comprising the Union, and the Catholic people generally > 
Copies may be obtained from the Secretary of the Union, Mr 
JUAN A. PIZZINI, Xo. 8 Twelfth street, Richmond, Va. 



BANCROFT UBRAJft 

EIGHTH ANNUAL CONVENTION 

OF THE 

CATHOLIC YOUNG MEN'S NATIONAL UNION' 

BOSTON, MASS., MAY 11, 1882. 

Report of the Committee appointed to Inquire into Catholic' 
Grievances in Relation to the Administration of Indian:- 
Affairs,. 

Your committee would respectfully report that they have- 
carefully examined into the present Indian policy of the Gov 
ernment, in so far as that policy affects Catholic Indians and 
Catholic missionary labors among the tribes, and find so extra 
ordinary a condition of affairs that they deem it both necessary' 
and a duty to place a detailed statement before the Convention. 
The committee, in the outset, felt that it was desirable to pre 
sent a very brief report; but the extraordinary circumstances 
surrounding the question under consideration, and the unusual- 
character of the testimony bearing upon this subject, admon 
ished them that if they would do more than repeat the mean 
ingless generalities usually recited in speaking of this subject, 
they must appeal to the intelligence and patience of the Con-~ 
vention, and present a report of sufficient length to show, not 
only the fact of well grounded causes for complaint, but also* 
the reason of the existence of Catholic grievances. 

THE OLD REGIME IN INDIAN AFFAIRS. 

At the beginning of President Grant's administration the In 
dians were governed by Indian agents, appointed, like other 
civil officers, upon the recommendation of influential political and 
social friends In theory always, and in practice generally, fair- 
minded men were selected, since the powers conferred upon them 
by the Government were almost unlimited over persons and- 



CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

things within the immense territorial boundaries of their agencies, 
and since the Government, in accordance with the spirit of Amer 
ican institutions, recognized it as its duty to treat the missionary 
labors of all Christian denominations upon the reservations with 
equal consideration. Under this just policy the missionary ge 
nius of the Catholic Church almost everywhere manifested it 
self in the self-sacrificing devotion of her missionaries and the. 
advancement, spiritual and temporal, of numerous tribes emerg 
ing from barbarism or reclaimed from the ruins of the old 
Catholic missions of New France and New Spain, Thus Father 
I)e Smet, and his companions of the Society of Jesus, were the 
recognized spiritual guides of the Flatheads and other tribes of 
the Rocky Mountains ; Father Chirouse, and his brethren of the 
Order of Oblates, of the Snohomish and the numerous other 
tribes on Puget Sound ; Bishop Salpointe, of the Papagoes in 
Arizona; and Bishop Lamy, of the Pueblos in New Mexico. 
The Mission Indians in California ; the Pottasvatomies, Miamis, 
and Osages in Kansas ; the Menominees in Wisconsin ; the 
Chippevvas in Minnesota, and others, were Catholics, and had 
Catholic churches and, in some cases, schools, upon their reser 
vations. The Protestants were also in the Indian country, con 
verting and teaching the Indians in their own way. Generally 
speaking there were no religious animosities, since the Govern 
ment protected all alike and discriminated against none. 

It must be confessed, however, that neither the spiritual nor 
temporal interests of the great body of the Indians were in a 
perfectly satisfactory condition. The permanent missions were, 
- generally, very poor, while many of the missionary stations were 
. sadly neglected ; the country was just emerging from the civil 
"war, and numerous abuses had crept into the civil administra 
tion of Indian affairs. 

IIKMOTE CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
PRESENT INDIAN POLICY. 

On March 3, 1865. Congress provided for the appointment of 
a joint special committee of the two Houses of Congress to in 
quire into the condition of the Indian tribes, and their treat- 



OA T THE INDIAN QUESTION. 7 

rnent by the civil and military authorities of the United States. 
A report entitled, "The Condition of the Indian Tribes," 8vo., 
pp. 532, Washington, 1867, containing details of horrible cruel 
ties by the military during the recent Indian uprising, and of 
outragous acts of maladministration by the civil authorities, 
was the result of the investigation. Circulated as a public 
document, the volume created a profound sensation in certain 
quarters. The philanthropists and the Protestant churches, as 
well as a certain portion of the press, immediately took up the 
subject, and by means of petitions, delegations, and an awakened 
public opinion, succeeded in getting Congress to take action to 
ameliorate the condition of the "wards of the nation." 

Incompliance with the wish of the country as expressed 
through philanthropic and religious lobbyists Congress, in the 
Indian appropriation bill lor the fiscal year ending June 30, 
1870, appropriated the sum of $2,000,000, in addition to the 
usual amount appropriated annually, to enabl-3 the President to 
maintain peace among the tribes and to promote their civiliza 
tion ; and the further sum of $25,000 for the travelling and in 
cidental expenses of a Board of Indian Commissioners, which 
the President was authorized t> appoint, at his discretion, the 
members to be selected from men eminent for their intelligence 
and philanthropy, to serve without compensation, and to exer 
cise joint control with the Indian Department over the disburse 
ments of the $2,000,000 appropriated by the act. 

In the month of May, 1861). the President appointed, as 
(members of the Board of Indian Commissioners, nine Protestant 
gentlemen, distinguished for their eminent standing in their 
respective churc/ies or Young Mens Christian Associations, 
namely : William Welsh and George H. Stuart of Philadelphia ; 
William E. Dodge and Nathan Bishop, of New York ; Felix 
Brunot, of Pittsburgh; John V. Farwell, of Chicago ; Robert 
Campbell, of St. Louis ; E. S. Tobey, of Boston, and Henry S. 
Lane, of Indiana. According to ihe testimony of Mr. A. C. 
Barstow, President of the Board as constituted in 1878, given 
before a joint committee of Congress in that year, these 



8 CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

gentlemen and their successors, were appointed upon the direct 
recommendation of their respective churches or religious socie 
ties, which recommendations were invited by the President and 
the Department of the Interior. (*) 

At about the same time, i. e., in the summer of 1869, Presi 
dent Grant re-oiganizeil the Indian service at the agencies by 
removing all the old agents and appointing in their places 
members of the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, 
upon the recommendation of their religious societies, for the 
tribes of Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian Territory ; and army 
officers for the other tribes of the country, excepting those in 
the State of Oregon. 

The placing of the Nebraska and Kansas superintendences, 
and that of the Indian Territory, under the care of the Quakers 
was the initial blow at the religious liberty of the Indians. 
Among others the Catholic Osages protested against the tyranny 
of the Quaker policy, but justice yet remains to be done them. 

The placing of the army officers over the agencies in the 
Territories on the otler hand, was attended with no evil results 
to the Catholic Indians, as their religious rights were not inter 
fered with. It may even be said that in certain localities they 
were benefited by the charge, since the military officers, with 
proverbial chivalry, lighted their wrongs and exposed the ras 
cality of those Mho had in the past tyrannized over them and 
deceived the Government. The following extract from the re 
port of Lieut. Smith, Indian agent for the Yakimas in Washing 
ton Territory, will illustrate the tyranny and deception practiced 
by his reverend predecessor : 

" I cannot here omit to remark that I have noticed a great desire 
by many who have not devoted themselves heretofore to farming 
to do so, if only their request for help as regards implements, &c., 
could be responded to. As a general fact I have observed that these 
pertaining to the Methodist Church are well supplied with such ma 
terial, and, I may say, well to do in most respects ; whereas those 
adhering to the Catholic faith have little or nothing. This state of 
affairs suggests the conclusion that sectarian prejudices predomi- 

*8enate Misc. DJC. No. 53, 45th Congress. 3<1 session, p. 236. 



ON THE INDIAN QUESTION. 

nated and influenced the distribution of supplies, (intended for 
all alike,) and to the detriment of such as chose to differ with the 
agent in religious doctrines and observances. Since I commenced 
my duties here I have made no distinction ; the sick and needy have 
been my first care ; and while seeking them out complaints of un 
equal treatment in previous years have been made to me by the In 
dians. They plainly affirm that the Methodists could get all they 
asked for. while to the Catholics most everything was denied. 

" Furthermore, by comparing the highly-favorable reports made 
from this agency in previous years, copies of which are on file in 
this office now. regarding the wealth and industry of yakama In 
dians on this reserve, 'with the result of my inquiries instituted on 
this subject, the conclusion forces itself to my mind that these 
reports were grossly exaggerated far from the true state of affairs 
and must have been so colored with a view to create certain favor 
able impressions personally. For instance, from reliable sources I 
learn that the Indians never possessed over about 800 head of cattle,, 
(and that number even is considered as overestimated by some, per 
sons,) instead of 1,600 as reported last. The quantity of feet of 
lumber reported as having been sawed for them should also make a, 
greater show in frame houses, barnes, and other improvements than 
actually exists. Instead of, as affirmed by the agent, 5,000 bushels 
of wheat having been sold by the Indians, facts prove that only 500 
bushels at the most were disposed of by sale from their surplus. So- 
has every article of produce been overrated in the same ratio. In 
one word, these glowing reports have been far from the truth, but 
must ha<re been purposely and systematically exaggerated.'^*) 

IMMEDIATE CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
THE PRESENT POLICY. 

The army officers detailed as Indian agents had scircely 
reached their agencies when the philanthopibts and the Protes 
tant societies again pressed their views upon the attention of 
Congress. The result was that the appropriation bill for the 
next fiscal year prohibited the employment of army officers as- 
Indian agents. The Board of Indian Commissioners, through 
its secretary, Mr. Vincent Colyer, at once determined to secure 
the agencies for their own churches. This led to the allotment 
of the Indian agencies among the several denominations the 



* Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the year 1170; 
pp. 32, 38. 



10 CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

most direct and far-reaching assault upon the principle of liber- 
ty of conscience made by the Government since the establish 
ment of the Republic. 

BY WHOM AND IIO\V THE AGENCIES WERE ALLOTTED. 

The Board of Indian Commissioners, in their official report 
for the year 1870, have themselves given a history of the per 
sons who formulated the plans of allotting the agencies, and the 
manner in which it was done. So important is that portion of 
their report treating of this subject that it is here given entire : 

""INDIAN RESERVATIONS PLACED UNDER CAKE OF CHRISTIAN 
MISSIONARIES. 

** The clause which had been inserted in the Army bill, preventing 
officer* from holding Indian agencies or other civil positions, induced 
the secretary of the board early to recommend to the Secretary 
of the Interior the policy of placing the Indian reservations under 
the care of the Christiun denominations of the country. This 
recommendation was an extension of the policy already adopted by 
the President, in placing the superiutendencyof Xebra^ka, and that 
ior Kansas and the Indian Territory, under the care of the Society 
of Friends. The Secretary of the Interior approving of this plan, 
called the attention of the President to the suggestion, who took it 
into consideration. Meanwhile, the secretary of the board went to 
New York, where the headquarters of most of the missionary 
societies are located, to consult with the officers of these bodies, 
and to ascertain whether they would accept the responsibilities of re 
commending suitable men for Indian agents. He found these 
officers at first reluctant to undertake 'the responsibility. Upon 
iurther consideration, the Rev. Dr. Lowrie, secretary of the Pres 
byterian board; Kev Dr. Harris, secretary of the Methodist board ; 
Rev. Dr. Backus, secretary of the Baptist board; Rev. Dr. Ferris, 
secretary of the Reformed Chuieh board ; Rev. Dr. T wing, secre 
tary of the Episcopal Church mission ; Rev. Mr. Anthon, secretary 
of the American Episcopal Church missionary society ; Rev. Dr. 
Whipple, secretary of the Congregational board, who, with Dr. S. B. 
Treat, secretary of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions, was communicated with by letter, all agreed to present 
the subject to the favorable consideration of their respective boards. 
Dr. Cady, chief clerk of the Indian Department, communicated 



ON THE INDIAN QUESTION. 11 

with the Roman Catholics, of which chnrch he was a zealous mem 
ber, and communications were also sent to other denominations. 

** On his return to Washington, the secretary of the board was 
officially informed by Secretary Cox that the President approved of 
the plan of enlisting the co-operation of the Christian missionary 
societies in behalf of the Indians, and the secretary of the board 
'sras directed to open an official correspondence with these societies, 
which was immediately done. Before final action was taken on 
these communications, Commissioner Bishop invited the secretaries 
of the various missionary societies to hold an informal conference 
on the subject, in the office of the Rev. Dr. Lowrie, who cordially 
co-operated in this movement. After a free interchange of views, 
tfche officers of all the societies agreed to report to their respective 
boards in favor cf recommending well-tried Christian men for In 
dian agents.. They accepted the responsibility, and letters announo- 
ang their action were addressed to the commission. (See correspon 
dence in Appendix 24.) On the receipt of this information, the 
Secretary ef the Interior applied to the Indian Office for the loca 
tion of the various mission schools in the Indian country, and find- 
Ing but little information on the subject in that office, applied to the 
secretary of the board, requesting him to furnish information, and 
to draw up an outline sketch of how the agencies should be allotted 
to the several missionary societies. (See Appendix 25.) The brief 
a'eport which the secretary of the board made in reply to this re 
quest was accompanied with a map, on which was marked out, in 
different hues with water color, the various Indian agencies and the 
Christian denominations to which they could be assigned in har 
mony with the mission work already begun at the agencies. This 
letter and map formed the initial guide to the present allotments. 
Some portions of the Indian country, such as California, Oregon* 
and Washington Territory, were left unassigned. They have since 
been assigned to the Methodist and Catholic Churches. The 2STez 
Perces reservation in Idaho and the Umatilla in Oregon, were, by 
mistake, assigned, the former to the Roman Catholics and the latter 
to the Methodists. On the visit of the secretary of the board to 
to that country in the fall he discovered the error, and on his re 
porting the facts to the Interior Department, by direction of the 
President, the errors were corrected.'' (*) 

A few extracts from the correspondence, Appendix 24, re 
ferred to above, will further illustrate the subject under con" 



* Second Annual RepArlvCvf the. Boai'd of Indian Commissioners for the year 
4870, pp. 4, 5. 



32 CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

sideration. In the following letter from Mr. Colyer to Rev. 
Stephen H. Tyng, chairman of the executive committee, Amer 
ican Church Missionary Society, will be seen how prodigal the 
Board of Indian Commissioners was with the interests of the 
Indians : 

" WASHINGTON, D. C., June 24, 1870, 

"DEAR DOCTOR : For nearly a year past I have been earnestly 
striving to have the care of the Indians of our country taken out 
of the hands of the politicians and the Army, and placed under the 
care of Christian churches, and at last the President, under God T 
has consented to the change, Congresss having forbidden officers 
of the Army to hold civil positions, fifty and more vacate the offices 
of Indian agents, and their places in the early part of next month, 
must be supplied by other persons. The President says that if 
Christian denominations will take charge of other Indian reserva 
tions as the Friends have done in the two superintendencies in 
Kansas and Nebraska, he will gladly appoint such persons, clergy 
men or laymen, as they may nominate. 

"I have already written to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign 
Missions, of which Rev. John C. Lowrie is secretary, and under the 
guidance of Mr. William E. Dodge and Howard Crosby, IX D., 
they will take charge of the Navajo reservation in New Mexico and 
other tribes thereabouts. Now, I write you to know if the Ameri 
can Church Missionary Society will not come forward, and, looking 
over the field in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, 
Oregon, and Nebraska, select a field and tribes, and assume at once 
the responsibility and nominate suitable men to the honorable Sec 
retary of the Interior as agents. The salary is small, only $1,500 
for agents and $2,000 for general superintendents, except in Cali 
fornia, where it is more. The amount of goods and money they 
have to handle in some cases is considerable, so that honest me a 
are essential. 

44 It is the first time in many years that our churches have had 
so large an opportunity for usefulness, and I trust that the pro 
ject will appear to you favorably, and that you will use your in 
fluence to aid us promptly. 

44 The honorable Secretary of the Interior wishes me to write 



OA T THE INDIAN QUESTION. 13 

this letter and will Lulorse all I say, and cordially co-operate with 
your society in every practicable way. 

" I write in haste per mail. Yours truly, 

"VINCEXT COLTER. 

"REV. STEPHEN II. TYNG, D. D., 

'"New York, Chairman Ex. Com. Am. Ch. Miss. Society." (*) 

In another communication adclresed to Rev. Mr. Anthon, of 
the same society, Mr. Colyer says : 

U I trust that you will bring this subject to the prayerful consid 
eration of your society, remembering that here is not a body o 
poor paupers, who are to be thrown on your charity unprovided for, 
and who will only be a heavy burden, but that here are poor people 
who come to you with means and power placed at your command 
to provide for and protect them with." (f) 

The partiality of the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Cox, for 
the Presbyterians is further shown by the followingjbrief extract 
from a letter of Mr. Colyer to Rev. Dr. Lowrie, secretary of the 
Presbyterian Board Home Mission ; Mr. Colyer is speaking of 
Secretary Cox : 

" He said that he deeply regretted the circumstances, as there was 
nothing he so much desired as the hearty co-operation of societies 
like your own ; that he would do everything ^in his power to both 
foster and encourage your efforts, meeting you more than half way 
in anything you would be willing to undertake, and he wished me 
to say this to you."(J) 

The Methodists heartily approved of the new policy, as ap 
pears from the following communication from Rev. Dr. Durbin : 

"MISSION ROOMS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 

4 '805 Broadway, New York, June 25, 1870. 

"DEAR SIR : We, the secretaries of the Missionary Society of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, took an early opportunity to 
report to our proper committee the [substance and many of the 
particulars of the conversation we had with you in our office a 
day or two ago, touching the President's Indian polciy. The 
committee was so impressed by its wisdom and utility that they 
communicated informally to our board of managers yesterday 

*Second Annual Report of the Board of Indian ;Commissionerg. for the 
year 1870, p. 96. 
t Ibid., p, 96. 
t Ibid., p. 94. 



14 CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

their convictions. A free and full conversation ensued among the 
'members of the board, which resulted in the unanimous adoption 
of the following resolutions, viz : 

M l. Resoh-cd, That we, the board of managers of the Missionary 
Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, do heartily approve of 
the Indian policy of the President of the United States as indicated 
by Mr. Vincent Colyer, and that we will co-operate with him in the 
same. * * *" (+) 

Even the churches that had no missions in the Indian coun 
try were provided for by the liberal gentlemen of the Board of 
Indian Commissioners, as appears from a communication from 
the Dutch Reformed Church : 

"34 VESEY STREET, XEW YORK, September 10. 1870. 
"MY DEAR SIR: At the meeting of the executive Board of 
foreign missions of the Reformed Church, held September 7, 1870 y 
it was 

"Resolved, That Mr. Charles G. Curtis, of Fishkill, Dutches* 
county, New York, and Mr. M. F. Mead, of Danbury, Fairfield 
county, Connecticut, be nominated to the United States Govern, 
ment as suitable persons for appointment as Indian agents. 

44 We settled nothing in regard to location, not being possessed of 
sufficient Information. Besides, it seemed best to us those gentle 
men should confer with the board of commissioners, and them 
selves select their place of labor. 
\ 

41 We expect as soon as possible to undertake the Christian in 
struction of the selected trbes. We must find the proper men as 
miiBionaries or teachers, arid that will demand a little time. The 
disposition of our board is to co-operate heartily with the Govern 
ment in the endeavor to improve the disposition and condition of 
our American Indians. 

"If we can carry out our own methods of working and there 
does not seem to be any reason why we may not we may expect, 
under God, to||accomplish results as desirable as those obtained in 
China and India by our representatives there. The main difficulty 
will be to obtain the services of ju.st such men as we wish for. 



* Second Annual Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners for the rear 
1170, p. 97. 



ON THE INDIAN QUESTION. 15- 

"If there it any information, or any directions that we ought to 
have, be so kind as so let me have them. BANCROFT UBRARY 

"Respectfully and sincerely you IT, 

"J. M. FERRIS. 
Corresponding Secretary. 
"VINCENT COLYEK, ESQ., Secretary, fyc.'*' (f) 

As regards the Catholics, it does not appear that they were 
consulted witk concerning the matter. If Dr. Cady corre 
sponded with the representatives of the Catholic missions,which 
is doubtful, it does not appear in the correspondence in Appen 
dix 24. 

As has already appeared, the allotment of the agencies was- 
made upon the basis of a report and map prepared by Mr. Col- 
yer. The following is the report in question : 

* 4 INITIAL. LETTER DIVIDING THE INDIAN AGENCIES AMONG THE 
CHRISTIAN SOCIETIES. 

WASHINGTON, D, C., August 11, 1870. 

" SIR : Agreeable to your suggestion of yesterday I have made a 
rapid sketch of localities where the various Christian denominations 
of our country may most naturally follow up tiheir work, in most 
instances already commenced, on behalf of the Indians. 

" First in order come the Quakers, the Orthodox branch of which 
society is already established in Kansas uud the Western Indian 
Territory : 

'Going south, next in order come the Baptists in Cherokee coun 
try, side by side, with the Presbyterians, or rather the American 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission, of which Rev. Mr. 
Treat, of Boston, is secretary. These two societies hare had the 
larger part of the mission work to do in the eastern side of thelndiaa 
Territory among the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, 
and others, and although other societies are working efficiently 
there, the prominence of these two societies ought to give them the 
choice of agent or general superintendent. 

" Crossing the northern plains of Texas you meet the Wichitas, 
Kiowas, Comanches, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and the Apaches. 
These are now in the care of the orthodox Quakers. 

4 ' Next across in New Mexico, which is more directly reached by 

t Ibid p. 8, 100. 



16 CATHOLIC GREIVANCES 

way of Kansas 1'uritic Railroad, you have first the Utes near Max 
well's at the base of the Rattoon Mountains. These you can assign 
to the American Missionary Society, Rev. Mr. Whipple, secretary ; 
and you can continue their mission field down into Southern New 
Mexico and Arizona, giving them a portion of (he Pueblo villages, 
on the Rio Grande, and the Apaches of Xew Mexico aiul Southeast 
ern Arizona. Other Pueblo villages on the Rio Grande are claimed 
by the Roman Catholics, and as they have missions there these can 
be assigned to them. Passing westward you come to the Xavajoes, 
Moquis, Pimas, and these, together with the Utes on the San Juan 
River, ought to be assigned to the Presbyterian Board, which al 
ready has missions there, and they are alone in that field. The 
secretary is Rev. Mr. Lowrie, 20 Centre street, Xew York. 

41 At present the basis of supplies in that direction ceases with the 
Moquis, and the tribes and people in Western Arizona are supplied 
via San Francisco. The tribes in Western Arizona are assigned to 
the Reformed Church, of which Rev. Mr. Ferris is secretary, office 
corner of Vesey and Church street, Xew York ; this society for 
merly known as the 'Dutch' Reformed Church. 

"As these tribes will hereafter be suppied via Union Pacific Rail 
road and Salt Lake, I have continued (on the map) their mission 
work up among the tribes in Salt Lake Valley to the railroad. 

"As the Roman Cathoiics already have missions among the In 
dian on and nearPuget Sound, and General Parker says also among 
the Xez]Perces and at the head of the Missouri River, and the Pow 
der River Sioux, I have marked these reservations down to that 
Church. 

"Coining down the Missouri, the great reservation of the Black- 
feet, Assinaboines, Piegans, &c., has been placed at the disposal of 
the Methodists, of which Rev. Dr. J. Durbin and Dr. Harris are 
secretaries, 805 Broadway. 

"Continuing down the Missouri, you next come to the Episcopal 
and American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Socie 
ties' missions in Dakota, and these reservations, I think, might with 
out jarring be placed in the care of these two societies. The Epis 
copal Society is what is known as the Evangelical branch of that 
Church, and differs only in church discipline from the Presbyterian. 
The Rev. Mr. Anthon is secretary, 13 Bible House, Xew York, 
'American Church Missionary Society,' and Dr. Treat, of Boston, 
secretary of the other. 



ON THE INDIAN QUESTION. It 



"Along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad the Baptists 
established, or are coiumissioned to establish, mission stations, and 
as there are numbers of stray bands of Indians along that railroad 1 
I have marked these, together with the tribes in Southern Idaho, to 
the Baptists. Hon. Nathan Bishop, 11 East Twenty-fourth street,, 
New York, will respond to lettters addressed to that society. 

"This brings us back to Omaha and Nebraska, and here the Hicks- 
ite Society of Friends are already successfully operating. 

*' In Minnesota the Yankton Sioux; are under the hospitable care 
of the Episcopalians, of which the Hon. William Welsh, of Phila 
delphia, is the efficient patron. 

" In Northern Minnesota, the Chippewas, if not already provided; 
for, might be recommended to the able supervision of the Unita 
rians, of which society Dr. Henry W. Bellows, of New York is- 
President. 

"These are simply suggestions made in response to your kind re 
quest. 

"Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

"VINCENT COLYER r 

"Secretary of Board ~ 
"Hon. J. D. Cox, Secretary of Interior." (*) 

Thus it appears that the project of allotting the agencies to- 
the different denominations was inaugurated by the Board of 
Indian Commissioners, composed of Protestant gentlemen ex 
clusively ; that the particular methods of putting that plan into 
operation were traced by its secretary ; and that the allotment 
was made by executive officers in full sympathy with the* 
churches represented by the gentlemen composing the Board, 
without regard to the wishes or rights of the Christian Indians*. 

RESULT OF THE ALLOTMENT OF THE AGENCIES TO THE SEV 
ERAL RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

The number of agencies assigned to the several denomina 
tions was sixty-nine, according to the official report of the 
Board of Indian Commissioners for 1871, as follows : 

To the Friends, 16 ; Baptists, 5 ; Methodists, 14 ; Congrega- 
tionalists, 3 ; Presbyterians, 10 ; Christians, 2 ; Episcopalians, 8 : 

* Second Annual Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners for the year 
1870, p, 98. 



18 CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

Dutch Informed, 2; Catholics, 7; Unitarians, 1; A. B. C. F. 
.M's., Boston, 1. 

The agencies aUotted to the Catholics were the Tulalip, in 
Washington Territory ; Umatilla, in Oregon ; Flathead, in Mon 
tana ; Fort Hall, in Idaho ; Grand River (or Standing Rock), 
.and Devil's Lake, in Dakota, and Papago, in Arizona. Later 
the Grande Ronde, in Oregon, was substituted for the Fort Hall 
agency. 

By this allotment the Mission Indians, of California, all 
Catholics, were assigned to the Methodists ; the Pueblos ofNew 
Mexico, all Catholics, to the Christians or Campbellites, and 
later to the Presbyterians, and twenty or thirty other tribes, in 
which a considerable numb2r of Catholics were to be found 
grouped around their Catholic churches, were placed under the 
charge of Protestant agents charged to aid in converting them 
-to the denomination to which they (the agents) belonged. This 
.astounding condition of affairs seems impossible in this free Re 
public and in this much vaunted age of enlightenment. Yet it 
is a fact fully attested by the published official reports of the 
Indian service. 

To show that Catholics are not alone in seeing the great in 
justice offered to the Christian Indians by the operation of the 
present policy, your committee here reproduce an editorial arti 
cle, clipped from the New York Tribune-, commenting on a let. 
iter from General Sherman to Rev. Henry Ward Beecher on 
the Indian Question : 

[From New York Daily Tribune, March 13, 1879. J 

"CHURCH AND STATE AMONG THE INDIANS. 

" The letter from General Sherman to Mr. Beecher which we pub 
lished yesterday has probably been read by many people with con 
siderable surprise. The General declares that if the army had the 
legal custody of the Indians ' every religious denomination profes 
sing " peace on earth and goodwill" should have a fair chance to 
establish schools, churches and charitable societies among each and 
all the tribes,' and that the present system of 'letting out* each 
tribe or sub-division of a tribe ; to some special denomination. 



THE INDIAN QUESTION. 19 

which has a monopoly of the business,' should be brought to an 
end. It is so obviously just that every church should have ' a fair 
chance ' to convert Indians as well as other heathen, it is so ludi~ 
crously inconsistent with the spirit of our institutions to grant to 
any religious body a 'monopoly' of anything, that Americans who 
arc not familiar with Indian affairs will perhaps wonder what the 
General is talking about. As usual, however, General Sherman is 
talking sense. He is not amusing himself with rhetoric. The In 
dian agencies have been divided up by the United States Govern 
ment, and assigned, for religious purposes, to fourteen denomina 
tions, ench of which is, within the limits allotted to it, the estab - 
lished church. Although clergymen of other denominations are 
-sometimes found at these assigned agencies, they remain there only 
on sufferance ; instances have occurred of their forcible expulsion at 
the demand of the Government missionary, and even of the confis 
cation by one church of the missionary buildings erected at the cost 
of an earlier and rival denomination. 

"It does not appear that in the distribution of the agencies the pre 
ferences of the Indians were at all consulted. General Sherman 
says that Protestant Indians are in the custody of Catholic priests, 
and, vice versa, Catholic Indians have been transferred to Protest 
ants. The scheme seems to have been to give every denomination, 
so far as possible, an equal, or at least proportionate, extent of 
territory, without much reference to what had already been done in 
the cultivation of the same fields. The result is that the churches 
which have maintained extensive Indian missions for a great many 
years find their spheres of usefulness suddenly contracted by an ar 
bitrary edict from Washington, and churches which have done little 
are set up among Indians already converted to some other variety 
of Christianity. By a grotesque blunder all the Pueblo Indians in 
New Mexico were committed to the Presbyterians, although four- 
fifths of them are Catholics. If similar transfers have been made 
from Protestants to Catholics, this mode of striking a balance does 
not lessen the wrong, but doubles it. The wrong is not upon the 
missionary but upon the savage. 

"Last May, Mr. Fenn, the delegate from Idaho, made a strong 
speech on this system in the House of Representatives. He charged 
that the ' grasping church authorities of different religious denom 
inations ' were actuated by ' greed and love of power ' in attempt 
ing to get control of the agencies. That was nonsense, for the life 
of an Indian missionary offers no temptation except to those who 
are actuated by true Christian zeal. But Mr. Fenn exposed several 



20 CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES 

11 which, if he stated the facts correctly, the United States 
Government undertook the extraordinary responsibility of convert 
ing tribes wholesale from one church to another, with the natural 
consequence of irritating the Indians and interposing a serious ob 
stacle to the advancement of Christianity and civilization. The re 
port of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1877 contains at least 
one illustration of the danger of letting the Government meddle 
with the religion of the Indians. The Green Bay Agency, in Wis 
consin, is one of those assigned to the Congregationalists. It in 
cludes the Menomonee Indians, the greater part of whom are said 
to be Catholics ; there are three Catholic churches on the reserva 
tion. The official report of the agent, Mr. Joseph C. Bridgman, 
contains the following passage : ' The four day-schools held in dif 
ferent parts of the reservation were abolished, and a boarding-school 
established at Keshena. . . At first it met the determined opposi 
tion of the Romish priest located here, and only two boarders re 
mained through the term. The priest was assured that so long as 
he confined his labors to his legitimate church duties and did not in 
terfere with the Government school he might remain upon the re 
serve, but if he continued to persecute and to excommunicate from 
his church parents who sent their children to the school he would 
not be allowed to labor among the people. . . We have enrolled the 
past term 102 names, mostly Roman Catholics.' 

"Whether the priest was right or wrong in forbidding his people to 
attend this mission boarding-school is not the question. The scan - 
bal is in the spectacle of the United States regulating the religious 
deliefs, or religious practices, or religious policy of Indians or of 
anybody else, in any form. We need no clearer demonstration of the 
mischief of the whole system of allotting missions than this instance 
of a Government functionary reporting officially to his immediate su 
perior the fruit of his year's labor in enrolling the converts made by 
another denomination. General Sherman's rule is the only one 
which an American Government can rightly recognize. It is the 
rule of ' Hands off, and fair play for all.' We want neither a State 
church in New- York, nor fourteen State churches among the In 
dians." 

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE INDIAN QUESTION. 

Notwithstanding the protests of the Catholic Indians them 
selves, notably the Chippewas, Usages, and Pueblos ; the Cath 
olic clergy and laity, notably of the Archbishop and clergy of 
the ecclesiastical province of Oregon, and of the societies com- 



ON THE INDIAN QUESTION. 21 

posing the Catholic Young Men's National Union, and the ap 
peals for redress filed in the Indian Department bv the Bureau 
of Catholic Missions, the so-called peace policy is still in full 
force, and the religious rights of the Catholic Indians are still 
ignored. Indeed it appears that 'progressive steps are being 
taken further to encroach upon the liberty of conscience of the 
Catholic Indians through a system of consolidation of agencies. 
Thus the Papago agency, which was originally assigned to the 
Catholics, has already been taken away by being consolidated 
with the Pima and Maricopa agency, allotted to the Dutch Re 
formed Church ; and bills are now pending in Congress for the 
consolidation of the Tulalip agency with the Nisqually and 
S'Kokomish agencies, and the removal of the tribes f the 
Umatilla agency to the Yakima agency, under the charge of 
the Methodists. Another danger to the Catholic Indians is the 
placing of their most intelligent and promising children in In 
dian industrial schools at Forest Grove, Carlisle, and Hampton, 
all of which are practically Protestant schools, where they are 
trained to become the future leaders of their people. 

CONCLUSION. 

From the above facts it appears that the Indian policy of the 
Oovernment,during the past thirteen years,has been administered 
by and in the interest of the Protestant churches. Not a sin 
gle Catholic representative is to be found in either (1) the com 
mittees on Indian Affairs of the two Houses of Congress, 
which frame the laws ; (2) the Board of Indian Commissioners, 
which shapes the administrative policy in accordance with the 
supposed sentiments of the philanthropic people of the country ; 
(3) the Indian Bureau, which determines and directly adminis 
ters the policy of the Government, or (4) the corps of Indian 
inspectors, which investigates charges of maladministration or 
grievances, furnishing data upon which to base the action of the 
department in certain cases. Catholics, evidently, are studiously 
excluded from the service, which is proverbially denominational 
in its organization, and in the administration of which they 



22 CATHOLIC GRIEVANCES, ETC. 

have important interests constantly at stake. Catholics cannot 
have objections to liberal-minded Protestant gentlemen, as 
citizens, controlling the Indian policy of the Government, but 
they have just cause for complaint, when Protestant gentlemen,, 
noted for their ultra-sectarian"views, are, as religionists, entrusted 
with the religious interests of those whose rights they can 
neither understand nor appreciate, by reason of their sectarian 
education or blind prejudices. 



APPKNDIX. 3 



[From The Catholic, Washington, D, C., July 15, 1882.] 

OUR CATHOLIC INDIANS. 



' k LO! THE POOR INDIAN!" 

We called attention some weeks since, to the fact that a bill 
was pending .in Congress which contemplated consolidating the 
Tulalip Indian Agency heretofore assigned to the Catholic 
Church under the " Peace Policy/' with the Puyallup and S'Ko- 
komish Agencies, assigned to Protestant denominations. We 
predicted that the new consolidated agency would not be placed 
under Catholic supervision, but that the change like all 
changes made in the administration of Indian Affairs since the 
inauguration of the present policy would redound to the advan 
tage of some denomination which, without Government favor,, 
could never have exerted any perceptible influence over the 
Indians. 

To-day we grieve to have to chronicle the fact that Congress, 
lias passed the bill referred to, and that our prediction has passed 
into the realm of reality. 

The consolidated agency is hereafter to be officially known as- 
the Nisqually, S'Kokomish and Tulalip Agency, and Mr. Edwin 

Eells, the old agent of the late S'Kokomish Agency, nominated 
by the Congregational Church, is to be the future governor of 
all the tribes of the Puget Sound district, the President having- 
sent in his name to the Senate for confirmation. 

A brief historical sketch of the Indians comprised within the 
present Nisqually, S'Kokomish and Tulalip Agency may be of 
interest to the sympathetic reader, and we proceed to give ar> 
account of them. 



4 APPENDIX. 

When the Hudson's Bay Company established its trading-posts 
west of the Rocky Mountains, in 1824, it found numerous small 
tribes of aborigines on the lands bordering Puget Sound, and 
on the islands which dot that important inland sea. They had 
never come in contact with the whites except the early explor 
ing expeditions of the Spaniards and English. They were all 
?real flat-heads except those held in bondage from infancy 
-and a hospitable and docile people, but steeped in pagan ignor 
ance and barbarism. 

Tiie first missionary of any denomination who visited them 
was Very Rev. Francis Norbcrt Blanc het, then vicar-general to 
'the Bishop of Quebec, but since Archbishop of Oregon. This 
was in the year 1840. He preached missions amongst them at 
.Nisqually, Whidby's Island, Tulalip Bay and other important 
points. The Skagets were then a numerous tribe and the appointed 
^their principal chief, Snetlam, a catechist, he having been pre- 
viously instructed at Cowlitz Prairie, near Fort Vancouver. He 
*was followed by Father Demers, afterwards Bishop of Vancou 
ver's Island, and later, Father Bolduc, now a professor at Laval 
-University, became their missionary. 

In 1853 Washington Territory was separated from Oregon, 
-and Governor Isaac I. Stevens made treaties with all the tribes. 
During the next few years they were gathered upon reserva 
tions in the vicinity of their old homes, namely : Snohomish 
or Tulalip, Swinamish, Lummi, Kitsap or Port Madison, Muck- 
leshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Shoalwater, Chehalis, Squaxin, 
/S'Kokomish, and others. 

During the terrible Indian wars of 1856 in the Oregon coun 
try, the missionaries of the Order of Oblates found themselves 
obliged to leave their missions among the Walla- Wallas, Yaki- 
*nas and Cayuses, on account of the hostility of the volunteers, 
and they retired to Olympia, the capital of Washington Terri 
tory, which is situated on the lower end of Puget Sound. From 
this point the missionaries made frequent visits to all the tribes 
of the surrounding country. Having met with considerable 
.success, and affairs in the Umatilla and Yakima countries re- 



APPENDIX. 25 

iiiaining unsettled, they determined to establish a permanent 
mission at some central point on Puget Sound. The Reverend 
Fathers (jhirouse and Durieu accordingly fixed the mission at 
the mouth of the Snohoniish river, at a locality now known as 
Priest's Point, on the Tulalip reservation, about the year 1858. 
In a letter dated Snohomish mission, February 15, 1860, ad 
dressed to a Father of his order, Father Chirouse gives the fol 
lowing interesting account of his mission : 

" What a change, my very dear Father, has been operated in two 
years among these poor savages, who up to that time had, perhaps, 
been the most corrupt of all the Indians of America. * * * 
There are now but few polygamists here and there, and these are 
ashamed to appear among people of good principles. The greater 
portion of the gamblers have renounced their impositions and have 
brought to us their games, which we preserve with the instruments of 
magic and sorcery, as permanent witnesses of their promises to God. 
More than nine hundred young men have enrolled themselves in 
our Temperance Society, and all of them have promised to pay two 
dollars for the poor and to submit to twenty stripes of the whip if 
they should again taste intoxicating liquors. Formerly the whisky- 
sellers made fortunes, but now they are obliged to leave the country 
for want of occupation. In the two years that have just elapsed, 
there have been fewer murders committed by reason of drunken 
ness in the whole of the Puget Sound country, than there were for 
merly in two months at a single point on the Bay. Formerly near 
ly all the Indians prostituted their wives and daughters to the 
whites ; to-day all of the two thousand Christians have, generally, 
a horror of this abominable commerce. Formerly the name of 
Jesus Christ was hardly known among these poor tribes : since eigh 
teen years a great number had been baptized in their cradles by the 
first missionaries who visited the country now each village is sur 
mounted and protected by a long mission cross, which reminds the 
inhabitants of what they are and what they owe to their Saviour. 
Upon the sea-shore, in the forest, and even up to the gates of the 
newly-born cities of the Americans, we see assemblies of poor In 
dians who say their prayers aloud and sing without fear of the 
world the praises of the Great Chief on high, of the Blessed Virgin, 
and of the Angels and the Saints. Formerly the children trembled 
with fear at the mere mention of the sorcerers ; now they make 
them the objects of their jest. Formerly Avar decimated these 



2C APPENDIX. 

poor tribes, who sought only to make slaves of each other, and now 
them seem to make but one people of friends and allies."* 

Such was the result of a few years' Catholic missionary labor 
among the tribes of Puget Sound. Father Chirouse and his 
companions labored in the same mission twenty-one years from 
1858 to 1878 

"Consider now how ^ivat must bo that whole 
"Which unto such a j ait <;< nforms itself." f 

We might fill many columns with the testimony of disinter 
ested witnesses, showing the practical work accomplished by the 
Tulalip mission, but we ):ave space to present only the testi 
mony of Mr. Edmund T. Cole-man, an English traveller and 
explorer, who visited 1'nget Sound nearly ten years after the 
date of Father Chirousi's letter, whose statements he fully cor 
roborates. Speaking of the Lummis, he says : 

" The Indian town is in the form of a triangle, built around :t 
large wooden crucifix and flag-staff, with an ensign bearing temper 
ance mottoes, and contains forty-eight good, substantial board dweU- 
ings, as well as a church, and a number of the old Indian 'ranclwv 
lies' for smoking; and curing salmon. The Indians here are very 
orderly, and have improved in mechanical skill. * * * Indeed- 
the Indians conduct morr.ingand evening service in a commendable 
manner, Old David Crockett being their leader. 

" They have already abandoned their ancient barbarous habits. 
and have adopted those of civilization, temperance and religion. 
They have also given up the practice of polygamy, flattening heads, 
holding slaves, and gambling, as well as their belief in Tomariusos,* 
or medicine men. * * * Two years ago, on leaving Mr. ElclridgeV 
for Victoria, I could not get Indians to take me, as Bishop Blanchet. 
the Roman Catholic Bishop of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington Ter 
ritories, with Father Baudre, of the Tulalip reservation, was making 
a visitation, and the Indians would not do any work until the bishop 
had left. Indeed, Father Baudre had scarcely time to eat his meals- 
so anxious were the poor creatures to confess to him. The follow, 
ing exemplifies the religious teaching of the priests : Mr. Strattow 
was one day walking along the shore of Lurnini Island, and met nt> 

* Rapports des Missions du diocese do Qu:lc, No. 14. p. 116, ct Eeq, 
t Dante, Inferno, xxxiv. 



APPENDIX. 7 

Indian woman quite alone. There were steep banks, so that she 
eould not turn back or get away into the woods. She showed some 
signs of alarm, and as Stratton drew near pulled out a crucifix, and 
held it up as he passed. It was evident she had been taught that this 
was a symbol the white man would respect, and that the possessor 
of it should come to no harm. I observed that the Indians detached 
for our expeditions regularly retired every night, and kneeling in a 
row, said their prayers. I could not but contrast their condition fa 
vorably with the poor of my own and other densely populated coun 
tries. The loveliness of the scenery around, the comfort and ease 
with which they gain a subsistence, the gentleness and dignity of 
their manner, nurtured amidst the freedom of their native haunts, 
all combine to remind one of that pastoral life of the olden time which 
painters have delighted to illustrate and poets to sins:."* 

In 1870, when the Department of the Interior allotted the 
agencies to the several religious denominations the tribes be 
longing to the Nisqually, Puyallup, Squaxin, Shoalwater, and 
Chehalis reservations, which formed the Puyallup Agency, and 
those of the S'Kokomish reservation, which formed the agency 
of that name, were allotted to the Protestant denominations ; 
while those of the Snohomish, Lummi, Swinamish, Kitsap, and 
Muckleshoot reservations, which composed the Tulalip Agency, 
were assigned to the Catholics. Father Chirouse having been 
appointed agent at Tulalip, he of course continued to exert a 
beneficial influence over the tribes of his jurisdiction. But his 
influence waned at the other agencies since the new agents, who 
represented Protestant churches, held that a Catholic priest had 
no right to visit a reservation assigned to Protestants, even to ad 
minister the consolations of religion to his neophytes.| Both 



* Harper's Monthly Magazine, November, 1869, article : Mountaineering on 
the Pacific; p. 797. 

f The Bishop of Nesqually. in 1873, having: obtained formal permission to 
build a church and re-establish the Catholic mission among the Yakiinast, 
many of "whom remained steadfast to their Catholic faith in the face of terri 
ble persecution, the Methodist agent, Rev. J. H. Wilbur, in a protest ad 
dressed to the Indian Bureau used the following language: 

"The two reservations referred to have been assigned by the President under 
the new Christian policy, to two Protestant denominations that of the Nez 
Perces to the Presbyterian Church, and that of the Yakima Nation to the 
Methodist, with the expectation on the part of all Protestant Christians that, 
so far as the religious instruction of these tribes are concerned, those respec- 



28 APPENDIX. 

of the Protestant agencies being without ordained ministers for 
several years, the blacksmith at Puyallup, and the agent atS'Ko- 
komish, performed the duties of missionaries, preaching, marry 
ing and the like. Father Chirouse's associate continued to 
make periodical visits to the Catholic Indians of the Protestant 
agencies assembling them within or on the outskirts of their 
reservations, but the adverse influence of the officials necessar 
ily interfered with his labors. Notwithstanding this fact there 
is to this day after thirteen years of Protestant regime at those 
agencies, a large Catholic element at all the reservations of Pu- 
get Sound, but especially at Puyallup, where one of the chiefs, 
named Spott, has manifested heroic steadfastness to his religi 
ous convictions. No Protestant missionary has ever labored 
among the tribes of the Tulalip Agency. 

The population of the three agencies just consolidated is as 
follows: S'Kokomish, 724; Puyallup, 1,089; and Tulalip, 2,817 
total, 4,630.* From these statistics it appears that the popu 
lation of the Tulalip Agency is 1,000 more than that of the 
other two agencies combined. All the Tulalips are Catholics 
and a large number of f he others are also of the same faith. 
The last official statement showing "church membership" that 



tive churches were to have entire jurisdiction without the interference of 
other denominations, most of all without the interference of the Catholic 
priesthood. 

* * * * * * 

"To encourage within the lawful jurisdiction of an Indian agent, an ele 
ment of power and influence that is utterly hostile to all endeavors of the con 
stituted authority, must necessarily prove disastrous to the success of all at 
tempts at true Christian progress not only, but it must prove disastrous 
to the peace of the reservation, and to the safety of the lives of the resident 
employes. 

" It becomes my conscientious duty, therefore, to remonstrate in the most 
distinct and positive terms against an order that I know to be fatal to every 
true interest of the Indians of my agency, and a violation of the precedents 
and tiie policy of the Christian administration of Indian Affairs." (Annual 
Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the year Ib73, p. 314). 

Superintendent R. H. Milroy, in forwarding the above remonstrance, learn 
edly (?) and modestly (?) said : 

* * * 'No authority, not even that of the President of the United States, 
can legally put 'ANY WHITE MAN, excepting those in the employment of the 
Indian Department.' upon either the Nez Perces or Yakima reservation with 
out the consent of the Indian tribes belonging to those reservations, the su 
perintendent and the agent of each, all three first had and obtained. The or 
der of the honorable Secretary being in plain violation of this provison of 
these treaties is of course illegal and void (! !) I therefore most heartily unite 
with Agent Wilbur in respectfully protesting against the order of which he 
complains." (Ibid p. 298). 

*Annual Report of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs for the year 1881. pp. 
286, 288. 



APPENDIX. 20 

has been printed by the Government, gives the following figures : 
S'Kokomish (Congregational), 20 ; Puyallup (Methodist and Pres 
byterian), 135 ; Tulalip (Catholic), 2,260.* Under the circuin- 
s i;ances was it fair or just that the Congregationalist agent should 
have been appointed over the consolidated agency ? 

We are no partizan of the so-called peace policy, by which 
agents are nominated by the religious societies. We believe 
that it is contrary to the genius of our American institutions 
and destructive of liberty of conscience, and we have not failed 
to express our views unequivocally whenever the opportunity 
presented itself; but under the circumstances would it not have 
been better for the Government to have appointed a citizen of 
Catholic antecedemts, in whom three-fourths of the Indians 
would have had confidence, or even a liberal-minded non-Cath 
olic, whom the great majority of the Indians would not have mis 
trusted ? We have no doubt that Mr. Eells is an honest gentle 
man and a good citizen, but being the son of an old missionary 
of the Oregon country who was a participant in the bitter reli 
gious controversies of his time, and being himself an ultra-sec 
tarian and the representative of an unsuccessful missionary as 
sociation, he must be particularly obnoxious to the people at 
Tulalip whose sympathy and co-operation are necessary to make 
him attain the objects^for which the Government appoints agents. 

It must not be supposed that the Indians themselves are 
ignorant of, or indifferent to, the injustice done them. When 
the telegraphic news reached them that it was proposed to 
consolidate [their agency with two others, they had sagac 
ity enough to know that the destruction of their mission 
including their^Christian schools, was the ultimate object of the 
proposed legislation. They held meetings and memorialized the 
Government to spare them from such a blow. Being'peaceable, 
and self-supporting, their wishes were disregarded, for it is only 
the powerful and war-like tribes that the Government treats with 
approximate justice. 

God have mercy on the poor, powerless Indians ! 

* Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the year 1876 
p. 221.