to introduce under any pretense
whatever any spirituous, vinous, or fermented liquors on the
reservation, shall be punishable by imprisonment for not less than
thirty days nor more than ninety days or by withholding of
government rations, therefrom, at the discretion of the court and
approval of the agent.

The civil jurisdiction of such court shall be the same as that of a
justice of the peace in the State or Territory where such court is
located, and the practice in such civil cases shall conform as nearly
as practicable to the rules governing the practice of justices of the
peace in such State or Territory, and it shall also be the duty of the
court to instruct, advise and inform either or both parties to any
suit in regard to the requirements of these rules.

Under these rules the courts are organized and hold their sittings at
such times and places as will be most convenient for the people, as for
illustration, upon the Cheyenne River Reservation one judge sits at
each substation at each semi-monthly ration issue, and if for any
reason a party is dissatisfied with his decision, he has a right to
appeal his case to the entire bench which sits for the purpose at the
agency at regular intervals[11].

[11] Letter of Prof. C. W. Rastall, Superintendent at Cheyenne
River, April, 1908.

Persons convicted of such offenses as come within the jurisdiction of
the court are committed to the guard-house for a stated period, and are
required to work in keeping up the grounds about the agency or
substation, as the case may be. They make very little trouble and
rarely does one attempt to escape, though they work without guard.[12]

[12] Letter of T. W. Lane, agent at Crow Creek, April, 1908.

The Indian people generally have great respect for the judges of their
courts and the latter show much wisdom and discretion in their
decisions, though they do not always place the white man's estimate
upon the relative enormity of offenses. I was present at a session of
the Cheyenne river court in 1892, when two parties accused with crime
were brought before it. One was charged with stealing a picket pin of
the value of thirteen cents and he got thirty days in the guard-house,
while the other, convicted of a rape, got ten days.

Formerly the judges were not compensated, but now they receive a
nominal salary,--from five to ten dollars per month,--and their board
while sitting. It is regarded as a