Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 4.djvu/778



President, to obtain satisfaction for the injury; and, in the mean time, in respect to the property so taken, stolen or destroyed, the United States guaranty, to the party so injured, an eventual indemnification: Provided, That, if such injured party, his representative, attorney, or agent, shall, in any way, violate any of the provisions of this act, by seeking or attempting to obtain private satisfaction or revenge, he shall forfeit all claim upon the United States for such indemnification: And provided also, That, unless such claim shall be presented within three years after the commission of the injury, the same shall be barred. And if the nation or tribe to which such Indian may belong, receive an annuity from the United States, such claim shall, at the next payment of the annuity, be deducted therefrom, and paid to the party injured; and, if no annuity is payable to such nation or tribe, then the amount of the claim shall be paid from the treasury of the United States: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prevent the legal apprehension and punishment of any Indians having so offended.

. And be it further enacted, That the superintendents, agents, and sub-agents, within their respective districts, be, and are hereby, authorized and empowered to take depositions of witnesses touching any depredations, within the purview of the two preceding sections of this act, and to administer an oath to the deponents.

. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the superintendents, agents, and sub-agents, to endeavour to procure the arrest and trial of all Indians accused of committing any crime, offence, or misdemeanor, and all other persons who may have committed crimes or offences within any state or territory, and have fled into the Indian country, either by demanding the same of the chiefs of the proper tribe, or by such other means as the President may authorize; and the President may direct the military force of the United States to be employed in the apprehension of such Indians, and also, in preventing or terminating hostilities between any of the Indian tribes.

. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall sell, exchange, or give, barter, or dispose of, any spirituous liquor or wine to an Indian, (in the Indian country,) such person shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars; and if any person shall introduce, or attempt to introduce, any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, except such supplies as shall be necessary for the officers of the United States and troops of the service, under the direction of the War Department, such person shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars; and if any superintendent of Indian affairs, Indian agent, or sub-agent, or commanding officer of a military post, has reason to suspect, or is informed, that any white person or Indian is about to introduce, or has introduced, any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, in violation of the provisions of this section, it shall be lawful for such superintendent, Indian agent, or sub-agent, or military officer, agreeably to such regulations as may be established by the President of the United States, to cause the boats, stores, packages, and places of deposit of such person to be searched, and if any such spirituous liquor or wine is found, the goods, boats, packages, and peltries of such persons shall be seized and delivered to the proper officer, and shall be proceeded against by libel in the proper court, and forfeited, one-half to the use of the informer, and the other half to the use of the United States; and if such person is a trader, his license shall be revoked and his bond put in suit. And it shall moreover be lawful for any person, in the service of the United States, or for any Indian, to take and destroy any ardent spirits or wine found in the Indian country, excepting military supplies as mentioned in this section.

. And be it further enacted, That if any person whatever shall, within the limits of the Indian country, set up or continue any distillery