treaties with the Indians the right of way over all of them should be permanently secured, and, if possible, the Indians should be confined to the country north of the North Platte and south of the Arkansas River. Every year makes this more feasible, from the fact that the great amount of game that abounded between these rivers along the Smoky Hill and Republican is becoming scarce, being driven rapidly north and south by the travel on these routes. To-day the buffalo and other game is very scarce on the Platte route, and abound for a length of only some 150 miles over the other routes, thereby making the region between the two rivers named valueless to the Indians as hunting ground. During the past year the routes have had to be, and have been, protected from the hostile operations of at least 15,000 Indians, warriors on the warpath, and hungry for blood and plunder. The telegraph lines had to be closely guarded, stages and trains escorted, new posts were built and garrisoned, and especially along the Platte route each stage station had to have a detachment of troops as escort. The posts on the Platte route are, as a general thing, well built, cleanly, under good discipline, and now have accommodations for all troops and stores required to be kept at them.

On the Arkansas River route Fort Riley and Fort Lyon are fine military posts. The intermediate posts are, however, poorly built, and are really unfit for troops to occupy, and lack proper protection for stores. It has been expected that most of these posts would be abandoned, hence no more expense than was actually and unavoidably necessary has been incurred in fitting them up. On the new route to Montana I recommend that posts be established at or near where the road crosses the Tongue and Big Horn Rivers. On the Smoky Hill route there are only five companies stationed, which, owing to troops being stationed along the routes north and south, is sufficient protection. Over these several routes must pass all, not only supplies for the mighty empire springing up in the mining regions of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Montana, New Mexico, and Idaho, but also the great trade, and emigrant travel to California and Oregon. As I have before stated, the country east of the Rocky Mountain range and west of the narrow fertile belt that borders the Missouri is not susceptible of cultivation or settlement-an occasional few acres only along the streams can be irrigated and made to produce crops. It therefore follows that from the States must henceforth be sent across the plains, not only bread-staffs to feed, and articles of manufacture to supply the hundreds of thousands now there, but also a population rapidly increasing by an immense yearly emigration which is forming a mighty empire now nearly in its infancy, an empire rich in mineral resources, and destined, with its wealth of precious metals, to form the future basis of our financial system, and even now, to a great extent, is furnishing the means to sustain the credit of the country. In view of these facts I cannot but consider it the duty of Government to promptly adopt such measures as will effectually protect these overland routes and render them at all times safe and secure. To do this the Indians of the plains, who for the past eighteen months have in deadly hostility beset these routes, and who persist in their hostility, must be so severely chastised as to make them beg for peace, repent their hostility, and in future deter them from a repetition of the outrages, in the commission of which they have for so long been engaged. This must be done or the Indians entirely removed from the country. In no other way can the end sought be accomplished. The cost of doing this would, I know, be great, but if it is