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some of your claims, there is no doubt but that they will be adjusted in due time.  On account of ambiguous wording in some agreements with Indians they puzzle the Department and are very difficult to explain.  Now in considering this question in regard to the western portion of your reservation for its cession to the United States, we want to separate your other claims from that.  Consider the one question at a time.  Any agreement that we may enter into for these land. of the west portion of your reservation will in no way effect the claims that you speak of.  Each of those individual claims will be considered and determined upon its own merits, and any agreement that we may enter into will contain a provision to that effect, which would be in words something after the form that I repeat,  "That nothing in this agreement shall be construed to deprive the Indians of any benefits to which they are entitled under existing treaties or agreements."

You people are land poor, what I mean by that, you have a great deal more land than you have any use for, and you are also poor otherwise, you have very little home comforts.  I am prepared to give you a good price for this land and pay it all in cash, not all at one time, as I don't think it would be to your best interest to pay it all at one time.  I would have the agreement provide to pay you one large first payment, which first payment to be made within 90 days after the agreement would be ratified by Congress, and the remainder of the amount to be paid in 10 annual installments, every man, woman and child to receive equal shares.  Upon reservations where they have good grazing lands I always prevail upon the Indians to take some stock so that they may start in stock raising, but here you have not got the range for cattle that they have west of the Missouri river and therefore cash is better for you.