The Progress., 1888-02-18
GIGANTIC ROBBERY I.
a Chapter Of Diabofoai OutYaqes
Worthy the DARK Deeds Of the
LaWIess BrigQnd.
How A Nation was Plundered OF
of It's Birth-Right.

a.
to Governor Hubbard on June IS.
1886, by chief Na-ga-nab, Of the
st Louis reservation, and speaker
Of thr Lake Superior Chippewas,
soliciting the aid of the Governor
te secure them call from Wash
ington, where they wiseed to go
and endeayor to secure some ad-
Justment Of numerous claims they
held then, and hold this day,
against the Government. We give
the letter to the public as it is
handed to us:
ST.. LOUIS RESERVATION, Min.
June Is, 1886.
His Excellency the Governor Of
Minnesota:
Sometime in last May, your
Honor, was paid a visit by Na-ga-
nab. The object Of his visit being
to solicit your assistance and inhu-
ence to secure him permission to
visit Washington the coming win.
ter. Your advice according to his
statement was, that he employ a
competent Interpreter who will
state in writing the object Of his
visit in W ashington. He there.
fore proceeds as follows:
''The first treaty made with the
Chippewa nation is by them desig.
mated as the ''Tim mber Sale.'' The
commission entrusted by the Gov
ernment with the management of
this sale or treaty, represented to
us that
The President Wanted the Timber
for his white children, because Of
the increase of his white children
who were settling on the wide
prairies demanded this timber to
build houses. All availab means
were taken to have the Indians
understand the whole situation.
The last council being called pre-
vious to the signing Of the treaty,
in order to have correct under
standing Of the whole matter on
both sides. One Of the braves
who had been chosen as spokes.
man for the occasion arose and
spoke as follows: ''The Great-fa-
ther wants to buy our pine timber,
we also understand you to say
that the Great-father
Does Not Want the Land or Soil !?
You also say that it may be a
great many years before the Great
father will want such poor land
in such cold climate as ours, and
when he does, he then ViN buy from
US ? We also understand you to
say that all this is in the papers
you want us to sign 2" to all of
which the commission answered
in the affirmative. Whereupon
the speaker laid before the COM
mission bunch Of grass and three
splinters of timber, then taking
up the bunch Of grass, he said:
"This denotes our rice fields in
lakes and rivers, and they must
not be destroyed Then taking
up the oak splinter he continued,
"this denotes our oak forests
where animals which form a por-
tion Of our subsistence feed on
acorns, this also must not be de-
stroJed. This denotes the sugar.
maple groves, also the white birch
trees must be preserved To this
also the commission answered In
the affirmative. The treaty was
signed.
For this timber-sale we were to
be paid 50 much for 25 years. On
the ensueing year printed copy
Of the treaty, purporting to be a
copy of the papers to which we
had affixed our marks and sigma
lures, was presented to us,
Lo! 1t was a Different Thing. In
Vain we Protested.
We had sold every inch Of our
land upon which the timber we
had actually sold grew, and every
thing appertaining thereto
Who then was the maipulator
of the papers we had signed 2
Yet our names appeared in that
Drinfnd nnpv Who thnn bod