Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1873.djvu/13

Rh special agent sent to investigate their condition, and which accompanies the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Their past history and present condition, the treatment they have received from their white neighbors and from the Government, offer the strongest reasons for legislation in their behalf that they may be enabled to secure to themselves homes and the protection of the law.

I take pleasure in being able to say that this Department has had during the past year the cordial and earnest co-operation of the Secretary of War and the officers of the Army in carrying out its policy of dealing with the various Indian tribes. This, with the valuable aid and assistance which has been rendered by the Board of Indian Commissioners, and especially its President, Hon. Felix B. Brunot, and the various religious organizations by whom the Indian agents of the Government are selected, has materially aided the Department in its difficult and complicated labors. A continuance of this work, sustained by the other branches of the public service just referred to, will, I have no doubt, in a few years, result in greatly improving the moral and physical condition of the Indians, and in giving security to our frontier settlements from Indian depredations, as well as in laying a permanent foundation for the progress of our various Indian tribes in the pursuits of peace and civilization.

During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1873, public lands were disposed of as follows:

This quantity exceeds that disposed of during the previous year by 1,165,631.23 acres.

The cash receipts were $3,408,515.50, a sum greater by $190,415.50 than that received the previous year.