unable to one in every respect fitted for it, but hope to do so before the adjournment of the present Congress. The Superintendent of Indian Affairs has to be a bonded officer, as the greater portion of the funds intended for the Indian service has to pass through his hands. Finding it necessary to leave in the Trans-Mississippi Department funds to meet certain expenses with regard to the superintendency, &c., which I knew must accrue after my departure, and having no superintendent to take charge of them (and at the urgent solicitation, too, of General Maxey), I determined to call upon General Smith for assistance in making the necessary arrangements to meet the difficulty. On the 6th of October last I wrote to him as follows:

It is necessary there should be some bonded officer at headquarters of the District of Indian Territory, to disburse certain moneys appertaining to the Indian service, in the absence of a regularly appointed superintendent of Indian affairs, to which officer such duty properly belongs. Could you appoint an agent of the quartermaster's department with instructions to attend to these disbursements and have him to give a bond which would cover them? Unless something of this kind is done I cannot conceive how it is possible for me to leave funds on this side of the Mississippi River to meet certain expenses of the superintendency which must inevitably arise during my absence.

In response to this letter General Smith appointed Mr. Robert C. Miller, who had been highly recommended for position in the Indian service, an agent in quartermaster's department for the disbursement of certain moneys appertaining to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and ordered him to report to me. He gave the requisite bond, one fully covering the case, and immediately entered upon the discharge of his duties. This procedure was somewhat informal, but in my opinion strictly legal, and justified by the circumstances. All of the papers relating to this appointment which were forwarded by General Smith for ratification will be submitted by me in person. On the 23rd of August last, in my letter to you from Fort Towson, C. N., giving an account of the general condition of the Indians and the Indian country, I made the annexed statement in regard to arms for the Indian forces:

The Indian troops are by no means well supplied with small-arms, although by means of captures made by them at Poison Springs in Arkansas last April and recently in the vicinity of Fort Smith, they are in much better condition in this respect than they were when I was first in this country twelve months ago. The 3,000 stand for which an order was obtained in Richmond about the beginning od last February by Campbell Le Flore, one of the delegates sent on by the Grand Council, &c., were not brought over by him as was expected both by the Government and the Indians. This was unfortunate, as the want of reliable arms has long been the most prolific subject of complaint with the nations.

On the 12th September General Maxey wrote to me as follows on this subject:

I have in frequent conversations with you informed you of the lamentable deficiency of the Indians troops in arms. I have also shown you my letters to department headquarters on this subject. My wants have not been supplied. This is the source of anxiety with me, as the Indians feel that the treaty has not been complied with. They have recently turned out with great unanimity under the President's call. The wants have been thus increased. I would be glad id you would bring this to the notice of the proper authorities. At least 3,000 guns are needed.

The wants of the Indians in this respect, I would suggest, ought to be supplied if possible, and at and early day. By act of Congress approved February 15, 1862, the Indian country was divided into two judicial districts, called the districts of Cha-la-ki and Tash-co-homma, and courts for each of them established. These courts have never been organized. This is a misfortune just at this time, owing to the dis-