serve ; but the Indians who occupy it have purchased the ulti-
mate fee of a portion of the reserve, which is now held in trust
for them by the Secretary of the Interior. The State of New York
exercises sovereignty over these reservations. The reservations
occupied by the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Tuscaroras have been
provided for by treaty stipulations between the Indians and the
State of New York. All six reserves are held and occupied by
the Indians in common. While the Indian tiibes of the continent,
with few exceptions, have been steadily decreasing in numbers,
those of New York have of late more than held their own, as is
shown by an increase of 100 in the present reports over the re-
ported number in 1871, and of 1300 over the number embraced
in the United States census of 1860. On the New York reserva-
tions are twenty-eight schools ; the attendance during some por-
tions of the past year exceeding 1100; the daily average attend-
ance being 608. Of the teachers employed, fifteen are Indians, as
fully competent for this position as their white associates. An
indication of what is to be accomplished in the future, in an edu-
cational point of view, is found in the successful effort, made in
August last, to establish a teacher^s institute on the Cattaraugus
Reservation for the education of teachers specially for Indian
schools. Thirty -eight applicants attended, and twenty -six are
now under training. The statistics of individual wealth and of
the aggregate product of agricultural and other industry are, in
general, favorable ; and a considerable increase in these regards
is observed from year to year. Twenty thousand acres are under
cultivation ; the cereal crops are good ; while noticeable success
has been achieved in the raising of fruit.
