“These leases are extended by methods which the mind of the Indian cannot comprehend, and once out of possession it is practically impossible for the Indian to get his land back. When the restrictions are removed from the sale of this class of land, which is looked forward to by the people holding them, they will make the most of their advantage over the Indian, by making it practically impossible for the Indian to get any other buyers than the lessees, who will buy on their own terms. This mean advantage is evidenced now in another way. The Indian Department can sell part of the Indian’s allotment for the Indian’s benefit, but in many cases a sale for an adequate consideration is defeated by the presence of leases often taken by white speculators for no other purpose than to prevent anyone else buying the land, or to demand a heavy tribute for a surrender of the lease. “The newspapers and the court files of the eastern half of Oklahoma for several years have been filled with the stories of the Indians’ undoing which explains the swift impoverishment of the mixed-blood Indian. If the mixed-bloods could not stand up against this condition, what chance, would the full-bloods have? “When the hardy pioneer ventured within the domain of the aboriginal proprietors of this country he found himself among what are often described as “hostile” people. It is a strange caprice of fortune that with the coming of the white man’s civilizing influence, the description “hostile” should be shifted from the Indian to the white man, and the submissive red man, remaining upon his own land, should discover himself surrounded by the perils of hostile white people. Perils less bloody but more insidious and relentless; the thirst for blood supplanted by the thirst for the Indian’s property; the Indian’s ambush exchanged for the white man’s ambush of intrigue and deception; conquest of the stout of heart and arm routed by the conquest of the pen and deceit and of the brain befuddled by the devastating alcohol. “The Indian is groping his way through the dusk of his day upon earth and soon he will pass from our sight and the sound of his footsteps will cease. As he proceeds falteringly, this shred of a great race is comforted by no expressions of good will. The road is rough and the guideposts are far between and hard to read. The only light that would reveal his path to him shines distantly but faithfully. From this light, from the voices and counsels of a few distant friends unselfishly striving for him, comes the only promise of amelioration.” Miss Barnard’s assistant, Mr. Huston, at Lake Mohonk, dictated to me the following two paragraphs as indicative of the essential things for which the Department of Charities and Corrections is fighting. It must be understood that the second paragraph from the end is not aimed at the Indian Office personnel. It is merely a statement of fact, that the new attorneys labor under disadvantage.