The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-12-10
MORE TERRITORY ADDED.
The Crows Surrender One-Third
of Their Reserve to Uncle
Sam.
Valuable Land That VIII NOW
be Part Of the
State
r..r,,, ror Agriculture, Grazing, and Min
eral Purposes is This Million ana
"a Half Acres.

A special dispatch yesterday from the
Grow agency to The INDEPENDENT says:
"a treaty was made with the Crow Indians
TODAY nv the commission by which one and
one-half million of acres of their reserve
vest of Pryor creek is coded to the United
states This will be open to settlement
nrobablv as early as April. The price agreed
unon with the Indians is S9iS,O0O."
According to the last survey made OF the
Crow reservation it contained 5,D5,76O
acres. or S.134 square miles. This is seven
times the size of the state Of Rhode Island,
four times as large as Delaware, and would
make nearly two Connecticuts. 1t is larger
by 800 square miles than the state of New
JERSEY, and lacks but little more than
1000 square miles of being as large as
either New Hampshire or Vermont. East
Of PRYOR creek the reservation contains
q. -Os 100 acres, West of Prior creek
Il contains 1,491.G0o acres, or
2.34O square miles. So that the portion
which the government gets west OF Pryor
creek equals nearly two Rhode Islands and
exceeds in area Delaware, another OF the
old states-and all for S94s, oO.
PRYOR creek opens into the Yellowstone
river near Huntley some twelve or fifteen
miles east of Billings. Its course from tho
head of the creek to Huntley IS north ana
little east. The country to be thrown open
to settlement, according TO the dispatches,
lies between Pryor creek ana Pryor noun
tains on the east. and Park county. Mon
tana. on the west and south, the northern
boundary being the Yellowstone river. In
the southwestern part are the bad lands.
full of rugged and isolated ranges of high
and almost inaccessible mountains. rs
pecially is this the case along the Rosebud
and Saltwater rivers, where the nils
are exceedingly difficult to travel.
The remainder Of the coded portion of the
reservation consists of species of table
lands, with occasional ranges of hills rising
at different points, the whole of which is
excellent for grazing purposes. Some or
the table lands az well as the bottoms,
are suitable for agriculture. The Big Horn
valley, on the part of the Crow reserve still
retained by the Indians, is one of the larg-
est in that section Of the state. The south
ern and western part OF the purchased ter
ritory, among the hills, is supposed to con-
tain valuable mineral deposits. Fine veins
of copper are reported near the line OF Park
county, and there is reason to believe that
other minerals exist in abundance. Many
surveys have already been made throughout
the reservation. Twelve townships along
Pryor creek have been surveyed for the
purpose Of making allotments in seyeralty
to the Indians Recently twenty more
townships to the east of Pryor creek have
been surveyed. Of course only those west
of the creek will be opened to settlement,
but along the stream these surveys will be
of great advantage to those looking for
locations.
The Grow reservation within the last
quarter of century extended as far west az
to where the Yellowstone runs north and
south through Park county, and along itH
entire length touched the borders of Wyo-
ming. But by successive treaties it has
been reduced and part Of it absorbed into
Park county The present cession still
leaves nearly $500 square miles for the
Crows to roam on. AS they are probably
the best behaved Indians in the northwest,
the Crows are likely to remain in undis-
turbed possession of this immense territory
widest. the Crows were never blood
thirsty nation. They have always been the
friends of the white people in any trouble
the latter have had. with other nations or
tribes, and the government has never had q
Crow war on its hands, such as the Black
feet and Sioux and Cheyennes have SO often
engaged in and which some of these Indians
are preparing to bring about now. While
their friendliness Tor the whites may be ac-
counted for by the fact that the Crows are
not warlike nation, still by many it is
attributed to their inveterate hatred of and
hostility to the Sioux. Their only known
wars have been with the subjects Of
Sitting Bull. The national name
though they were in the northwest before
the advent of the white man, they are be-
lieved to have come originally from the ex-
treme south. This is evidenced by their
either intuitive or traditional familiarity
with the alligator. Though he has never
seen one yet Crow Indian can draw per-
feet picture of this sauriau. In passing over
our through large river, the Grow squawf
invariably throw pieces OF meat into the
stream, to appease the appetites of the alli-
gators supposed to be there and thus secure
transit without the danger of forming q
meal for the animal. or losing leg or two
on the trip. They were here before the
Lewis and Clarke expedition, hut how ia
their settlement in this county antedatet
that event is not known.
Nothing worse has been told OF Cro'
Indian and his relation to the white peopl
than his "swaps." In these transaction
he has been known to hold up white mar
give him an old knife for new one. or
cayuse for full-blooded horse, aud call
IN even trade. Under sucn circumstance
there was usually very little quibblinR Owe
the exchange, even it the bargain Wa
somewhat cne-sided. They even sto
some of the horses of the Lewis and ClarA
expedition, but as they were not at thf
time acquainted with the honest methoe
in vogue among their white brethren, the
populations may be attributed to ignoranc
and not to righteousness. Sometime
the early sixties party of pioneers frol
Last Chance gulch made journey RIOI
the Yellowstone to locate q town near Il
Big Horn. On their way they we're 9
upon by the Crows and three of the par
shot. The Crows, however, explained TIL
they had mistaken the white men for Bal
mock and Snake Indians. and made profu
apologies for the damage they had don
thus showing that they bore the pale fac
no i'll Will ON account of the little misu
derstanding.
When one meets Grow tie Indi,
stretches out his hands with tho palI
showing straight ahead. This is meant
express the idea of stand off," 1t is il
as we'll to stand off until better acQuaints
Tho next move of the Indian is to place
hands alongside his head and move them
the manner of birds wings. This 81
language indicates that he belongs to
Grow nation. The Cheyennes always p
origin in the facility with which Che
enne will track his game. A Sioux dra
his hand across his throat. most app
pirate sign. and one which readily fixes
nationality of the savage
The importance to the state of Monta
OF throwing open these thousand of acre.
hardly 70 be calculated at this time.
tho cattle. horse and sheep men it will oil
exceiiJnt opportunities for grazing, WI
some day its mineral mysteries wilis be
plored and made known, and its. resour
n that direction developed Its agricul
tal lands will also, no doubt, draw il
large number OF thrifty farmers, who !