The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-09-15
TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER Ii, 1855.
&C Rice is g reat ON Tricks. .n---The Half Breed
-+.-- .tit4+- . Tract - s.t-a tk Ell e

"Rice is Great ON Tricks."---The Half Breei
! 49, atiA.- Traet.o - Il 5IE
The fact I" that Rice il great on tricks
is the meraorious hobby upon which the Rics
men, and Rice himself expect to win the eIec-
tion. His particular friends din il into the
ears of the Republicans all the while. ! !" He
is great on tricks" cry they, and Will fool
the people by his tricks, and thus secarsoan
endorsement of Douglas and the Administra-
tion by the voters of Minnesota. ott.i nasa
We acknowledge his proficiency in the
"trick" line, and here follows one of them ex-
posed by the St. Anthony Republican. The
only fault of our neighbor. of the Republican
is, that he does not state the case as strong
ly as it should be stated. We copy his YER
sion and make some additional statements
thereto; --' 60 @'eA .ao
Gin Minnesota, on the west side of lake
Pepin, there is strip of land As miles long
and Is wide, known as the IIalf-Breed Tract.
A year ago last winter our Legislature mem
orialized Congress, we think, for the eXtin-
gtiishment of the tit1e OF the Ihdian Half
Breeds for whom this tract had been preyi-
Ously reserved. Under the direction of Mr.
Rice, an act passed in July, 1854, by which
it was generally supposed the rights of the
resident Half Breeds, and also those of the
white settlers who squatted on their lands,
were equitably secured. Wea not familiar
with the details but suffice it to say, the
friends of Rice are represented as having told
the Half Breeds-who are voters-that the
act was passed solely for their benefit. The
whites were informed from the same source
that itwas passed SOLELY fot their benefit.
Several hundred white settlers have gore ON
since the act of July, 1854, supposing that
they would be allowed the right of pre-emp-
ton. Each Half Breed, however, as Con-
gress has fixed it, is to receive a sort of scrip
in the shape of a Land Warrant, authorizing
him to locate so many acres of land on the
Tract. The settlers are assured by Mr. Rice's
agents that none of these warrants shall III
terfere with their claims but that they will
all be allowed to pre-empt, whether they set
tied prior til the act isr since. The settlers
nevertheless anxiously awaited the arrival of
instructions from Washington Wm r. Mar
recently visited the Land Office at Red Wing,
the Register and Receiver of which are
among Mr.. Rice's foremost ''managers''-and
relative to the question who should he allow
ed pre-emption on the Half-Brced Tract
Their reply was "No." The question was re-
peatcd to guard against MISUNDERSTANDING
put the answer was the same. Subsequcn.-
ly Mr.. NJ. met with prominent and reliable
citizen in a neighboring precinct who was
supposed at the Land Office to be Rice
man: That citizens assured Inn that one of
II, &<1l Il
The Instructions ht0s 6etN TeCeiced, Jut ac0uld not
be made public ;k1r the present.
From the Washington Union, it abpeHrs
that the instructions which are thus Suppress
ed and lied about require the Red Wing
Land Officers to deny pre-emption to the
hundreds of settlers who have gone upon the
Half Breed Tract since the act of July, 1854
Any of the Half Breeds may therefore locate
their scripupon any of the claims which have
been taken on that Tract for the last thirteen
months. This game of misrepresentation
and fraud is therefore failure. What num-
Der of votes Mr.. Rice gets from the white
settlers whom his agents have thus attempt
ed to deceive, we may be able to determine
in October.
We will trace brief history of this Half
Breed Question from the beginning of Mr..
RIGS Congressional labots lii felation there
to- The act of Congress alluded to above,
was passed at the instigation of Mr.. Rice,
and approved on the 18th of July, 1854. Its
plain terms are, that no Mhite settler, who
should locate upon the Half Breed lands AFTER
thepassage of the act, could hold his title as a
pre-emptor And yet we find Mr.. Rice, about
that time, writing to VIM. R. MARSHALL, and
others interested, and stating that pre-cmp-
ton settlers, old and new, were fully protec-
ted by the terms of the law. Mr.. Marshall
was compelled to construe the language of
the act differently, and so informed Mr.. Rice.
The latter gentleman, however, persisted in
his first Interpretation, to Mr.. Marshall, but TO
those Immediately interested as Half Breeds,
and as the fathers of Half Breed children,
lie writes, about The SANE, time, chat the white
settlers are not at all to be benefited by the
act of July 18th. While to Marshall and
others deeply interested in holding their
claims upon the Half Breed Tract, he says
1t is all right; tell the white settlers to 60 on
and make their claims, he tells the Hal
Breeds that, under the act, no neao settler can
hold until after they (the Half Breeds) have
had their pick and choice of the lands, to be
located by them with their scrip; which
latter Interpretation is in truth the plain read
ing Of the act.
When memorial was introduced in the
last Legislature praying Congress to protect
the new settlers, in accordance with Mr..
Rice's views as expressed in his letters to
Marshall and others, JOSEPH r. Brown, the
representative of eight or ten minor Hall
Breeds in his own family, and the present
chosen editor of Mr.. Rice's chief organ, the
Minnesota Democrat-chosen for that post
by Mr. Rice himself- declared war upon the
memorial at it's very incipient stages, claiming
that lie kneao Mr. Rice to be with him on that
question. The memorial went overheard as
matter of course. If the settlers upon the
Half Breed Tract don't believe us in relation
to this matter, let them ask ex-Councillol
Freeborn, of Red Wing. If he denies the
fact, we will produce the record-the Jour
nal of the Council. Keep in mind, however
the position to which Mr.. Brown has beer
elevated by Mr.. Rice since that time, ant
since, even, Mr.. Rice's late nomination fo