The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-02
TIMBER TOPICS.
SPECIAL AGENT CARRIERS MAP OF
THE TIMBER COUNTRY.
where He Get His instructions ana WE"
DIhu't Give Information Away.

Whore NE Get His Instructions ana Wh'
Didn't Give Information away
Tho loo matter charges investigation las Ya-
sumed Yesterday when the direct ex' limitation
If Specinl Agent Garter was cOnttr ,1ad.
The charge that 1 corruptlyr ,lepsed Iogs for
my friends is not true. N ,yer did attenopt to
interfere with the lawful avocation of the 200.
ple Of CaIcaeieu or q Aewhere, az charged by
Mr., Sowei, | did .ry to stop their unlawful
avoGatiOns In eating and removing tho timber
from the public lands of the United States.
Never suggested any compromise to any citizen
or citizens Of CalCasieu. Was frequently ap-
preached on the subject. both by citizens
INDIVIDUALLY AND BY COMMITTEES,
representing the log and mill men. but invari-
| ably referred them to my official superiOrs Of
| the Interior Department. One committee who
| applied to mo | referred t0 the Commissioner
! General Of the Land ONCE to whom they tele-
| graphod, The Commissioner replied declining
| to consider any Compromise until after the
| property YRS nveutOred by the United States
| Marshal and appraised.
In all my official nets I have never been in
nuenced by personal feeliDg towards tho poo
| pie but it was my desire to do my duty rs an
| 0tI1cinl In manner which ! considered to be
for the best interests of the government. In
the sixty eight townships which comprise
NEARLY ALI TUE TIMBER LAND
in that parish the title to about 90 per cont Of
! these IAnds is still in the government OF the
| United Siatos. There il an average If a frae-
! ton over 434 acres of the timber land in 0arh
township in the hands Of private parties. The
| township Is about 1900 acres Of land. II would
| have been utterly impose bic to have surcoRe-
fully carried ontho lumber business that has
| been maintained at and about Lake Charles
! wi hout drawing tho supply from
THE PUBLIC T,ANDg
of tho UnitNd States. In the length Of time
| that ii has been going on such attn ia hns
! been accumu lnted there IN the hands Of the mill
and log mon has almost without exception boon
| the proceeds Of the depredatOns on tho land ro-
ferred TO.
An organized system of deprodations has boon
maintained there for years. In some instances
such seeming countonancing Of the spOiiaton
of the public lands u the homestead law Rf-
forded has been resorr to, but it can be sue
cessfulIy shown that over 10 per cent Of the
h OmostRad entries In that parish were simply
made not for the purpose Of settlement and
cultivation but for the object of stripping tho
land Of alt its value In removing the timber
therefrOm and then abandoning 1t. These are
the facts developed and confirmed not only by
the official records but also by careful Inyestga-
ton on the land.
THE EASTERN PORTION
Of the parish Of CaIcasieu Is almost entirely
prairie land. The extreme southern portion Of
the parish Is prairie ana marsh. The timber
that was seized under tho writ Of sPJuesra ion
In the Gaze Of the United States va. Jos. Hamp
ton and others covered almOst entirely pine
timber. | believe there were only twenty six
cypress logs seized, and they were seized by
mistake and released on or before the first day
of the sale,
Such timber "a had reason to believe came
from private lands, but unfortunately mixNd
with the public timber, | invariably had re-
leased. Tho number, | believe, is between 5000
and 1000 nf all thnRe seized. Thenumher of Logs
for which no claim at all was set no is 10000 or
over. That claimed by intervenurs who
HAVE SINCE Confessed
Judgment Is about 30 900 and tho numbar
claimed by intervonora who have not confessed
judgment Ia between 1000 and 8OnO.
CROSS EXAMINATION.
To Mr.. Chamborlain-WHs appointed specinl
agent for Louisiana March II. 1877. NV mpros-
sion Is that Mr. Goose surrendered all claim to
seized property. and that he told me TINT he
made no claim TO the logs that dnpredntOns
had been going on there for long years and
that he had warned the people that sooner or
later it would have to be- stopped. Ha simply
made that statement and gave no Information
about others. Capt. Goose, his firm and family
have been falsely and unadvisedly charged with
furnishing mo with Information. | wish now
to state that they never furnished mo with any
Information which at all involved their neigh
b0rs.
The Department Of the Interior authorized
me to institute suit In the United States Circuit
G urt. Tho err tary Of the Interior issued his
instructions to the Commissioner Of the Land
Office. and / received my Instructions from the
Comm isRiOnor of the Land ONCE
Adjourned until Monday Mt 10 a. m.