Ottawa

Sir,--I have the honor to submit to you, for the information of
His Excellency the Governor-General, a report of my negotiations
with the Indians of the Province of Manitoba, and with certain of
the Indians of the North-West Territory, entered upon by me, in
accordance with your instructions, dated 3rd May, 1871.

Having, in association with S. J. Dawson, Esq., and Robert Pether,
Esq., effected a preliminary arrangement with the Indians of Rainy
Lake, the particulars of which I have already had the honor of
reporting to you in my Report, dated July 11th, 1871, I proceeded
by the Lake of the Woods and Dawson Road to Fort Garry, at which
place I arrived on the 16th July.

Bearing in mind your desire that I should confer with the
Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba, I called upon Mr. Archibald, and
learned from him that the Indians were anxiously awaiting my
arrival, and were much excited on the subject of their lands being
occupied without attention being first given to their claims for
compensation. Amongst the settlers, also, an uneasy feeling
existed, arising partly from the often-repeated demands of the
Indians for a treaty with themselves, and partly from the fact that
certain settlers in the neighborhood of Portage la Prairie and
other parts of the Province, had been warned by the Indians not to
cut wood or otherwise take possession of the lands upon which they
were squatting. The Indians, it appeared, consented to their
remaining on their holdings until sufficient time had been allowed
for my arrival, and the conclusion of a treaty; but they were
unwilling to allow the settlers the free use of the country for