Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. President, it is well known that hostilities have been going on between the U.S and the bands of Sioux Indians and the other Indians upon the upper Missouri and the upperPlatte for several years at a very great expense, but that last fall the military authorities, under instructions both from the War Dept and the Interior Dept, entered into arrangements to bring about peace between the U.S and those various bands. With several of these bands of Sioux treaties have already been made and peace has been effected. The War Dept or those having charge of our military operations, it seems, have invited the Indians oi several other bands to meet at several of the forts of the U.S. with a view to negotiate treaties of eace and amity with those bands, and the SecyWar called upon GenlCurtis to make estimates of what would be necessary in the negotiation of those treaties, as the ludi ans are brought together generally in bands and brought together almost entire; and the Government of the U.S., while they are together and during the pendency of the negotiation is compelled to furnish supplies to feed the Indians and to make some presents to them. The War Dept culledu on GenlCurtis to make an estimate, an be made an estimate to the SecyWar, and it seems that at the time the SecyWar supposing that they had suilicient rations and supplies to attend to this matter, so informed GenlCurtis. I read from his letter: “ The SecyWar informed me that the arti clcs necessary to make up thesesupplies at the various points would besent forward immediately.” It seems that on a communication from General Pope to GenlGrant and to the War Dept that the War Dept has not these supplies to furnish. The Indians are invited to assemble and the time is fixed, but the military authorities are without the supplies necessary to feed them during the pendency of the negotiations, and the matter is now thrown on the Interior Dept, and the Interior Dept have ased a special appropriation from Congress to meet these expenditures, sending forward the estimates by items of what the expenditures must necessarily be at each of these forts where the Indians have been invited to assemble.