been hunted down till they were hard to find; the buffalo had long since been driven to new ficlds, far distant. Many of the Indians were too poor to own horses on which to hunt. They were two hundred miles from the ncarest place where corn conld be obtaincd, even if they had money to pay for it. Ex- cept for some assistance from the Government, they would have died by hundreds in the winter of this ycar.

Tn 1849 the " needs" of the white settlers on the east side of the Mississippi made it impcrative that the Sioux should be again removed from their lands. The desirable portions of Minnesota cast of. the Mississippi a white population to obtain without delay side of the river, for the accommodation of our citizens emi- grating to that quartor, a large portion of whom would prob- ably be compelled Mississippi."

Commissioners were aecordingly sent to treat with the In- dians owning these desired lands. In the instructions given to these commissioners there are some notible sentences alrcady so oceupied by as to secm to render it absolutely necessary werc a cession from the Indias on the west precipitate themselves on that side of the to Though the proposed purchase is estimated to contain some twenty millions of acres, and some of it no doubt of excellent quality," there are "sound reasons why it is comparatively val- eless to the Indians, and a large price should not be paid for Alivc to the apparent absurdity of the statement that lands which are comparatively valuoless" to Indians whom the Government is theorctically making every effort to train into farmers, and who have for the last ten years made appreciable progress in that direction, the commissioner adds, " With respect to its be- ing valuable to the United States, it is more so for the purpose of making and only a small part of it is now object. **The extent of the proposed cession should he no it." absolutely necessary " for white farmers are emigrating citizens tlhan for any other; actually necessary for that room for ouиг