m or along a railway.

The principle of secluding Indians from whites for the good of both
races is established by an overwhelming preponderance of authority.
There are no mysterious reasons why this policy should be adopted: the
considerations which favor it are plain and incontestable. The first is
the familiar one, that the Indian is unfortunately disposed to submit
himself to the lower and baser elements of civilized society, and to
acquire the vices and not the virtues of the whites. This need not be
dwelt upon; but there is still another consideration even more
important, yet not generally apprehended. It is that an Indian tribe is
a singularly homogeneous body,[F] and, if not disturbed by the intrusion
of alien and discordant elements, is susceptible of being governed and
controlled with the greatest ease and effect. It is not necessary to
point out the ways in which this peculiarity of the Indian character
assists the agent of the government in his administration of a tribe, or
to show how much more complete it makes his success, as, little by
little, he is able, through the authority of the government, and the
means of moral education at his disposal, to effect a change for the
better in the public sentiment of the people under his charge.

The number of Indians now having reservations secured to them by law or
treaty is approximately 180,000. The number of such reservations is 92,
ranging in extent from 288 acres to 40,750 square miles, and aggregating
167,619 square miles. Of these reservations, 31, aggregating 2,693
square miles, are east of the Mississippi River; 42, aggregating
144,838 square miles, are between the Mississippi and the Rocky
Mountains; and 19, aggregating 20,068 square miles, are upon the Pacific
slope. In addition to the above, 40,000 Indians, having no lands secured
to them by treaty, have had reservations set apart for them by executive
order, out of the public lands of the United States. The number of
reservations thus set apart is 15, aggregating 59,544 square miles. The
Indians thus located have, however, in the nature of the case, no
assurance of their occupation of these lands beyond the pleasure of the
executive.[G]

It must be evident to every one, on the simple statement of such facts
as these, that the reservations, as at present constituted, do not
consist with the permanent interests of either the Indian or the
government. There are too many reservations: they occupy too muc