The Dickinson press., 1889-06-01
TE3 LANDS OF POOR 10
T'tc sisscson Military Rcscryc.
Embracing 100000 Acres,
to BE Opened juno 1,
And the Indian Reservation of the
Same Name, 100000 Acres in
Extent, Sixty Days Later.
distinctions TO the Red Lake Chippewa
Commission Approved and For
wardcd TO ST. Paul.


Three million five hundred thousand
acres of the finest land in Dakota-the
aisseton Indian and military reservations
is Don to be thrown open for settle
meMt. There is no such rush as occurred
when Oklahoma was declared ready for
the homesteaders, but there is a steady,
quiet movement toward the new El
Dorado by the farmers of adjoining Min.
nesota md Dakota counties, and when
the timi arrives for entering the rcser-
vations several thousand sturdy boom
crs will be on hand to make early selec-
tioEs. The military reservation, set
apart in 1864 for the use of United States
troops, comprises SOC, 900 acres. and
Will Be Proclaimed Open.
June /. The Indian reservation, which
contains a little more than 5000, 900
acres, will be ready to be sliced up into
tracts of 100 acres, it is expected, about
the list of August. This depends upon
the rapidity with which the red men are
allotted lands i'll severalty. There are
about 1900 of the Sissetons, who have
agreed to take 100 acres each, and as
soon as they make their selections the
pItSlueIU VIII W llOUlltcu, anu Ic VIII
issue an order opening the remaining
i.ortion to settlement. The military
reservation is a rectangular tract located
in Marshall county, Dakota. 1t can be
cut up into over 5000 farms, on which
| 5000 people can gain a livelihood.
Description of tho Reservation.
The great Sisseton Indian reservation
is a tract in the shape of a wedge, the
uoint of which rests OF Lake kampcska
in Codington county, three miles north
of Watertown. The western boundary
runs through the counties of Codington,
Grant, Day, Marshall and Sargent, to
the forty-sixth parallel. The northern
boundary lies in Sargent, Richland and
Roberts counties. Lake Traverse, on
the Minnesota border, is the eastern
boundary for a distance of thirty miles,
the boundary line running thence
through Roberts, Grant and Codington
counties to Lake Kampeska again. The
country is thickly settled with thrifty
people on every side of the reservation.
Among the towns and cities located
within a few miles of the great tract are
browns Valley and Ortonvilie, Mimi,
Briton, Webster, Milbank, Wilmot, Rut-
land, Forman and Watertown. One
railroad-the Chicago, Milwaukee and
st. Paul-runs through the Indian res
ervation, and the Manitoba, Minneapolis
and Pacific, Northwestern, Burlington,
Cedar Rapids and Northern, and Mime
apolis and st. Louis run along its bor-
ders.
Plenty of Water and Timber.
The land is %splendidly watered by nu-
merous lakes and small streams and is
sufficiently hllly to be splendidly drained.
The soil is n black loan, which averages
a foot in thickness, but at times reaches
several feet. 1t is the most fertile on the
eastern border of the territory and large
crops of wheat, oats, corn and vegetables
are raised. Stock fares well also, as
there is excellent grazing both summer
and winter. Oak and cottonwood trees
abound ON both reservations. Building
stone is plentiful along the central ridges
and the Indians have utilized it to some
extent. Excellent sand and brick clay
abound. The rainfall is usually frequent
and plentiful, the average for several
years being 1927 inches.
The single company of troops now
located at Fort Sisseton will be ordered
to some other post early i'll June and the
government buildings, twenty-five in
number, will be sold at public auction
June 6. Several hundred ceres immedi>
ately adjoinining the fort are already
under a high state of cultivation, the
garrison having raised all its vegetables
for a long period. This and all the other
land on the reservation will be subiectto
homestead entry only.