to the presence of roving bands of hostile reservations, owing Sioux, driven from Minnesota after their outbreak there.

The Poncas through all these troubles remained loyal and peaceable, and were "unwavering in their fidelity to their trea- ty, says the Indian Commissioner.

In December of this year what the governmental reports call a very nnfortunate occurrence" took place in Nebraska. A party of Poncas, consisting of four men, six women, three boys, and two girls, returning from a visit to the Omahas, had camp- ed for the night about twelve miles from their own rescrvation In the night a party of soldicrs from a military post on the Niobrara River came to their camp, aud began to insult the squaws, "offering money with one hand, and presenting a re- volver with the other." The Indians, alarmed, pulled up their to a copse of willows near by. The soldiers ran away, and then procoeded to lodge, and cscaped fired at them as they all their effects. They cut the lodge covers to picccs, burnt the saddles and blankets, cut open sacks of beans, corn, and dried pumpkin, and strewed their contents on the ground, and went away, taking with them a skin lodge-covering, beaver skins, bfTalo-robes, blankets, guns, and all tlhe small articles. The Indians ponies were hid in the willows. Early in the morning they returned with these, pieked up all the corn which ad not been destroyed, and such other articles as they could find, paeked their ponies as best they might, and sot off baro- footed for home. After they had gone a few miles they stop- destroy parch somc corn to cat. Some of the women and children went to look for wild-beans, leaving three Women and a child at the camp. Here the soldiers came on them again. As soon as the Indians saw them coming they fled. The soldicrs fired on them, wounding one woman ped and built a fire to by ball through hcr thigh; another, with a child on her back, byy onc of which passed through the mother's side. These women were fired on as two balls through the child's thighs,