The Mysteries of the Tombs, a Journal of Thirty Days' Imprisonment in the New York City Prison for Libel. New York, 1844, 64 pp. Wilkes, George, vs. John F. Chamberlin. N. Y. Supreme Court. The answer of John F. Chamberlin to the complaint of George Wilkes in an action to recover damages for defamation of character. New York, W. J. Reed, 1873. (Diplomatic Pamphlets, v. 16, p. 1.) 15 pp. CLARENCE B. BAGLEY. THE PRESENT STATUS AND PROBABLE FUTURE OF THE INDIANS OF PUGET SOUND The central fact to be observed in dealing with this problem is that the Indian of today is largely what the white man has made him. The relationship between the whites and the Indians in the past has done more than any other thing to bring about the present conditions of life among the Indians; and it is only as we understand this relationship of the past that we can fully grasp the present status and can catch a glimpse of the probable future or learn to apply remedies to eradicate existing evils. What progress the Indian has made, therefore, toward civilization can be traced directly to his relations with the whites, and similarly the evil conditions of life among a great number of our Indians can be traced to the same cause. It is, then, essential to take particular notice of some of these relations between the two races. The Indians of Puget Sound were put on reservations by treaties concluded between them and Governor Isaac I. Stevens in the latter part of the fifties. These treaties established eighteen reservations, four in the Neah Bay agency, nine under the Puyallup consolidated agency and five under the Tulalip agency. The lands were set aside for the use of the Indian, to make a home for him, and to protect it from the encroachment of the whites. Under the federal act of July 4, 1884, the Indian was allowed to take advantage, without severing his tribal relations, of the Homestead Act of 1862. In 1887, Congress passed the General Allotment Act, or the so-called Dawes Act, which had for its purpose the breaking up of tribal life and establishing the Indians on private farms according to the customs of the whites. This is by far the most important piece of legislation enacted in the history of Indian affairs, because many complications have arisen under it. This law states, in part: "Every Indian born within the territorial limits of the United States to whom allotment shall have been made under the provisions of this Act, or under any law or treaty, and every Indian born within the territorial limits of the United States, who has voluntarily taken up, within said limits, his residence separate and apart from any tribe of Indians therein, and has adopted the habits of civilized life, is hereby declared to be a citizen of the United States and is entitled to all the rights, privileges and immunities of such citizens." (24 Stat. L. 390.)