New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-07-14
RoBBING THE INDIANS.

Z !
ROBBING THE INDIANS.
Alleged Unlawful Occupation of the
CROW Reservation by Favored
Cattlemen, Friends of
the Agent.
The current number of Forest and
Stream New York; contains the fol-
lowing: .
The Grow Indian reservation includes
about 100000 acres Of land in west
ern Montana south of the Yellowstone
river. Except along the river bottoms
it contains little arabic land and no
where can farming be carried on with
out irrigation. But the broad prairies.
rolling foothills, and mountain parks
are luxuriant with nutritious grass, and
the reservations advantages as a stock
country are unsurpassed This reser-
! walton is all that is left to the Grows of
the broad lands that once were theirs.
Here they live subsisting on what the
government issues to them, for few OF
them have made any progress in indus
left. A few of the Crows have COWS
which were issued to them by the gov
eminent, and they have a good many
ponies, but they have as yet done hard
ly anything toward learning how to till
the ground.
Over the length and breadth of the
reservation the cattlemen's herds feed
and fatten on the acres which belong
to the Indians. The few COWS belong
ing to the latter range with the thous-
i, ands owned by the whites, and are alb
sorbed by them. 1t is the old story of
the poor mans one eve lamb which
his rich neighbor coveted.
The tresspassing of these cattle on
by the regulations of the Indian depart
ment, but under sanction of permits
issued by Agent Williamson to num-
Der of firms, the practice still continues.
Having acquired this foothold, the cat
tlemen propose to make still more sure
of this great pasture land. They wish
to secure it beyond peradverture and
for all time. They desire to fasten
I their grip upon these lands SO firmly
that it can never be loosened. This is
their plan: They have arranged with
the present agent to give them permits
| to throw their cattle on the reserve.
Having secured these permits from the
agent, they have turned in the stock in
large numbers and are now taking
possession of the best locations. The
permits which they have obtained cover
the best agricultural and grazing lands
on the reserve, and on these lands the
cattlemen are building permanent i'm
provements. which will enable them to
hold the land should the reservation
ever be thrown open to the public and
to bluff off actual settlers.
Among the firms and individuals who
are alleged to have succeeded in get
ting permits to throw cattle on the re-
serve are the following: Briggs & ELLIS,
renewal of permit to Craze cattle OF
the reservation, at SO cents per head;
Hoskins & McGirl, permit to Craze
bulls on the reservation when not
needed with the COWS that craze north
of the Yellowstone; Ash, permit to
Craze a small band of cattle on the
reservation.
Il is believed that there is no law for
this permit system which is being car
ried out by Agent Williamson, and that
any cattleman has as much right to
turn his cattle on the reservation as
those who have these permits
1t is stated by those who are perfect
ly familiar with the reservation that
Nelson Storey, of Bozenan, is building
a permanent ranch On the reservation
near Pryor mountains, and that he has
a permit TO Craze his cattle on the re-
serve. Whether he has such permit or
not his cattle arc there by thousands.
So also are those belonging to /. K.
Dillworth, making with thoseof Storey
perhaps twenty thousand in all. Last
winter and spriug they dotted the
whole country between Pryor river and
the western boundary Of the reserve.
Storey had then q hay ranch and COR
rails on Clark's fork. Several of the
cattlemen have boosted that they have
the reservation securely in their power
It is not only the cattlemen who are
encroaching on the reservation. for
Thomas Barry, q sheepman Of Rock
Greek, stated last spring that he had Il
permit to Craze his band of 5000 on
VAO AOoOA VdClOil ~ W u uuc.
! On the south, a cattleman Of Wyo-
ming, II. C. Lowell whose stock
ranges on Sage creek and Sinking
Water, takes advantage Of his prox-
unity to the reservation to Craze his
cattle there, too. AS the case stands at
present, the cattlemen seem in a fair
way to gain absolute control of the res
ervation. This control Will not benefit
the Indians, who are at present una
ware Of this state of things and would
strenuously object were they not de-
ceived in the matter, and when the time
comes for throwing open the reserva-
ton the desirable locations will be found
to be all occupied by the cattlemen,
who will find some means of holding on
to them. The people and press of the
Yellowstone valley are very silent on
this matter, for the great cattle firms
interested have too much influence to
be openly resisted.
The greater portion of the reserva-
5ion is now under the control of the
cattlemen. The Crows receive I;ttla