St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-09
AT FIFTY MILLIONS
Is Estimated the Value of the
Lands Coded by the
Indians.
-Z-s---e-e /. =
. Commissioner Henry M. Rice
. Talks Interestingly Of
the Work..
The Dawes Bits Provisions
Recognized as=Very
Beneficial.
Condition Of the Minnesota
Indians and Progress Of
the Treaty.

| success OF the negotiations. I'VE start
ed out" said the ex-senator, with the
intention Of trying to persuade the In
dianS, who have always lived on the
reservations with everything in CON-
mon, to renounce their tribal relations
and take up lands in Severalty. We
have so far visited every reservation
this side of Lake Superior. Most of our
travel was done in canoes, and we have
practically lived i'll the open air ever
since we left st. Paul. two months ago.
'Few people, even the best posted,
have any idea of the size of Minnesota.
Red Lake reservation alone is larger
than the states of Delaware and Rhode
Island put together. 1t is not quite so
large as Maryland, but not far short.
This reservation combines Red lake,
the largest lake that lies wholly within
any state in the Union. Some of the
land that has been cededby the Indians
will prove most valuable. 1t is the only
unaliotted virgin pine forest left IN the
whole country. The Indians on the
White Earth reservation have coded
four townships of valuable pine timber,
besides an immense tract of pine north
of Leech lake. The PiIlager In
dams, of the Leech' Lake. -CaSs Lake
and WinnebagOShiSh reSerV atoms: have
ceded several hundred thousand acres
of solid pine forests all on. streams di-
rectlY tributary to the Mississippi river.
The 5000. 900 acres ceded by the Indians
of the Red Lake reservation are directly
tributary to the Red River of the North.
All these lakes are Ravigable. The
Mississippi river is naYigable above
A fDrs Inc cNn IN
go right up to the outlet OF Lake Win
nebigoshish, where big reservoir dam
stops them. Large steamers and bargeS
are at work collecting hay along all
those rivers and lakes. Speaking of
hay. the Indians have coded many thou
sands of acres of splendid hay lands
WHERE TREATIES WERE MADE
1--WE made treaties with the Cfippe-
was at Red Lake and White Earth, the
PembinaS and Ottertail Spillagers : at
White Earth and Eeech Lake, CaSS
Lake and Lake WinnebigOshish, the
Chippewas at Sandy Lake, Gull Lake
and Mile Laos. A curious coincidence
occurred to me while. we were making
the treaty at Leech Lake on Sept. %.
| Just forty-tWo years to day had
| elapsed since l was on the very same
| spot making a treaty with the fathers
man living who signed that treaty except
myself. We met with strong opposition
at most of the reservations, but before
we left the Indians were almost unani-
mOuSly in favor of the treaty. At Red
Lake they refused to listen to us, tell
| ing us we might just as well go home.
| They had been tempered with, and had
| been given the impression that the
| treaty would be in furious tO1them. At
| White Earth there was also strong and
well-fOunded opposition The. govern
ment has not paid them money that has
! been indiSputably due them under a
former treaty for many years. Heavy
damages are also due them for injuries
caused by building reservoir dams.
! These caused some of the riv-
ers to overflow, flooding 10000 acres
of rice fields, gardeps,y hay land,
and grave yards. At Lake Winnie,
| bigoshish the grave yard was washed
away, and the bones are scattered
around the shores. A commission, con-
siSting of Gov. Marshall, Capt. Blake
| ley and Rev. Mr.. GilfiIlan, of White
Earth, was appointed five or six years
! ago, and went up TO assess the damages.
| They reported damages amounting to
| S25,O00 annually, but never a cent was
paid. Three years ago the Northwest
| commission made an agreement with
| the PillagerS and Chipuewas of the
| Mississippi, by which they were to re-
| ceive Sl50,000 for damages. Congress
never took any action upon this treaty.
| In consequence of these OltcOmingS
the Indians were so hostile and angry
| that they refused even to negotiate
with US.
"At Mile Laos it was found that the
81 Of I,rY NJ
never been complied with. This treaty
stipulated that the government should
cause to be cleared, grubbedand plowed
| large area of land on the reservation.
| The agent in charge of the work broke
| the land three mil from the Teserya-
ton and it is now in the possession of
white men. At Leech Lake there was
large amount to be cleared. Instead
| of clearing new land the agent Just
| plowed that which had been grabbed by
! the Indians. At Red Lake the saw mill
broke down some years ago. and through
never having been repaired 1t is a mere
! wreck The Indians have no boards
| even for making collins. At Leech
| Lake the same state Of affairs exists
| and there is no saw mill within eighty
| miles. The Indians have torn boards
| off their huts
TO MAKE COFFINS OF
| and they bury their dead just as they
are able. At Leech lake and Winnie
bagoshish they never hadsa farmer, ply
stefan or any government employe of
any sort. Most of them are living in
| the most wretched state in wigwamS,
with not even a screen to separate the
sexes at night, Privacy is an absolute
| imposSibility. Men, women and chill
dren all sleep huddled together on the
| floor. Morality is impossible under
such circumstances, and deceney. is
equally out of the question. The
| girls and boys of these Indians
| are taken East and educated
and Christianized at an expense OF thou
sands of dollars and are then sent back
| to their homes with no means of sup
port, and with no prospect but to fall in
with the ways of the masses. The school
house at Red Lake is not building that
any decent farmer would allow his
| horses to live IN. This wretched state
| of affairs must be seen to be appreciated,
| and will bear investigation by the mis-
| Sionaries and others.
| "The value of the lands already ceded
| is S50,000,000 at a very low estimate.
| These are ali to be surveyed by the gov
| eminent at once. Their value will be
estimated and they will be sold. The
price cannot be less than IS thousand
feet for the timber lands and s1.25 an
acre for the agricultural. The Indians
were much gratitied at the result of our
negotiations when the whole thing was
explained to them; they realized that
it would be much better for them
to become civilized and take up lands
| in Severalty. The young men were all
enthusiastically in favor of it, but some
of the old chiefs did not like the idea of
renouncing their authority. They re-
alize, however, that they cannot cut
their timber, they have no saw mills
and they are grossly neglected.: fires
have destroyed large amounts of timber
in fact, at Red Lake, We saw from one
point nine different forest fires. At
| Mile Laos there are 900 indians,
and the nearest agency is 100
miles away. Many of the indians
ara willing, aye, anxious to work. They
| get work off the reservations among the
| 1umbermen and farmers, but when they