NOME LACKEE CALIFORNIA INDIAN RESERVATION SCANDAL, partial 2-page handwritten letter, ca. 1858

[1850s PARTIAL LETTER NOME LACKEE INDIAN RESERVATION SCANDAL 2 PAGES] ca. 1850s 2-PAGE HANDWRITTEN LETTER, 7" x 8-3/4" with folds as mailed, from an unidentified individual (hand-signed, but name illegible) to unknown recipient about corruption, scandal, and mismanagement at the Nome Lackee Indian Reservation in the latter 1850s, first page of letter of unknown length begins, "Henley had also appointed a number of persons as employees of Stevenson…[excerpts of following content]…most of these Stevenson discharged on account of bad conduct and immorality…It was then [Henley] put J. W. Titus in charge of Nome Lackee. Titus is one of those superfine little Yankee tricksters…On the Nome Creek Farm are 250 or 300 hundred head of horses [etc.]…Henley's son and [illegible] claims this stock as belonging to them…yet they are taken care of by the Indians at the expense of government…The fact is that I think if the matter can be properly and honestly investigated that it will be found that Stevenson has discharged his duty faithfully and that he is too honest to suit the purposes of others. The whole regulations of the Indian Affairs in this state should be changed…As at present if the Superintendent can remove the agent at will, what is the necessity of the agents at all appointed by the President…The whole system needs changing to prevent swindling the government. Perhaps a secret agent on part of the government might remedy the evils which are arising…Yours [hand-signed illegibly]"; one-of-a-kind item, original 1850's handwritten letter authenticated by seller with lifetime guarantee; NOTES: The U.S. Government established the Nome Lackee Military Post in 1854…Nome Lackee existed for seven years, and was the direct result of the Indian Appropriation Act of March 3, 1852…In 1854, Superintendent of Indian Affairs Thomas J. Henley directed the reserve to be located in Northern California, in what is now Tehama County. Henley, with the assistance of H. L. Ford and others, looked for land that would be appropriate for a military post. They eventually found several valleys suited for the purpose, and made contact with the Indians residing in the area, the "Nome Lacka." The Indians agreed to gather together their remaining 300 people and settle on the reservation. From then on, the post was called the Nome Lackee Indian Reservation…In 1856, the Nome Cult Farm, an extension to the Nome Lackee Reservation, was established in Mendocino County. It was at this time that a special agent recommended that the Nome Lackee reservation be abandoned, and that the Nome Cult Farm be made into a reservation. However, no one acted on this recommendation…Correspondents of the Alta California accused Henley of fraud in 1858, and he left his position as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in 1859, the year that the U.S. Government began investigations of the entire reservation system…Washington sent J. Ross Browne and G. Bailey to California to investigate charges of fraud, corruption, and dishonesty…Focusing on Henley and some of the agents he employed, Browne found evidence of fraud, maltreatment, and dishonesty on all reservations. He charged Vincent E. Geiger, then the Indian Agent at Nome Lackee, 'with selling equipment that belonged to the Reservation and of being involved with illegal transfers of the Reservation land to private parties'…The Secretary of the Interior called for the abandonment of Nome Lackee in 1859…Although Geiger told people that Nome Lackee was prospering, outside reports indicate that it and the Indians were faring poorly…Under the authority of the Appropriation Act of 1863, the U.S. Government began to sell Nome Lackee land in 1870, but Indians continued to live on the land. (A History of American Indians in California: Nome Lackee Indian Reservation, Tehama County, California); CONDITION: well-preserved, paper supple/not brittle, folds as mailed, mostly legible with a few words difficult or impossible to make out not affecting overall content. keywords: California history, 19th century California, Native American interest, U. S. government Indian Affairs, Indian reservation scandal.