St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-26
The Pine PIRAcIES,
Government Officials Confirm
the Charges Made by
the Globe
That the Canueks Have Been
Bueeaneering on Our
Border.
Deputy Marshal Campbell
Tells How the Depreda-
( tors Worked.
Indians Loaded Down With
/ Whisky in Exchange
. for Fups.


Six weeks ago the DAILY GLOBE pub
lished at length the full account of the
extensive timber depredatious being
made on the northern border, prInci-
pally along Rainy Lake river and the
upper portion of the Red Lake reserya-
ton. The publication was accompanied
by map showing the vast tracts Of
timber being pillaged and the routes by
which the stolen timber was being
hoated and tugged through the Lake of
he Woods to Keewatin, Rat Portage
and other points along the Canadian
Pacific, to be sawed into lumber. The
article was widely copied and comment
ed upon, and many influential journals
throughout the country editorially called
upon congress to take steps TO terminate
the buccaneering. Various lumber pa
pers, including the Minneapolis Lum-
herman, undertook to discredit this
story ,actuated by the fact that it refetc-
ed upon certain Minnesota lum-
berlnen, the patrons OF these
class papers. The GLOBE gave
the information upon the authority of
such men as government officers and
Bon. Henry M. Rice, who was perfectly
familiar with the situation. 1t now ap-
pears that government officers have
been sent, since that publication, to as
certain the exact situation, with the re-
suit of sustaining the GLOBE s position,
except as to the full extent of the thiey-
ing operations. A special to the GLOBE
from White Earth tells the story as fol-
lows:
INVESTIGATED BY OFFICIALS.
/ Deputy United States Marshal George
Campbell, who went from Red Lake
with posse of Indian police to investi-
gate the reported timber steal in the
vicinity of Rainy lake, with instruction
to arrest any parties found trespassing
on Indian or government land, returned
here Saturday. The party reached
Rainy lake after tedious journey of
five days. their route having been over
an Indian trail and through dense
thickets. tamarack and cedar swamps.
deep snow and pine forests, much of
the latter having been scOrched by for
est fires. They state that the pine-cut-
ting reports, as published in the GLOBE
some time ago, are CORE ct,
with the exception, perhaps, that
the amount reported cut is
little over estimated. They saw
unmlstakable signs of numbering of
previous years along all the streams
YiSileu, GSpeeldily Oh bile Duuuett6 anu
RAPID rivers. but saw no signs of ium-
bering being carried on Whereabouts the
present winter, although the party were
informed by the United States revenue
collector. starioned at Winter Road
river, that numbering was being carried
on along the banks of the Black river,
some fifty miles up the stream.
The mode of operation is to cut tim
Der, pine and hardwood, adjacent to the
StreaiiiS, and which can be conveniently
secured without the cumbersome and
expensive proceeding of skidding and
hauling on sIeds. and rendering the
chances OF escape less hazardous in case
of detection by government officials.
The timber is then rolled into the
Stream and driven down with the early
spring freShetS and disposed of to Can
adam capitalists.
THE MANNER OF PIRACY
has been carried on almost annually for
many years, until now the banks of
streams emptying into Rainy lake, for
some considerable distance on either
side, have been denuded of all mark II
able pine and hardwood timber. Most
of these lumbprmen are Canucks, who
come and cut timber on American soil
under the pretext that they ''have
right to do so" because their "wiyes are
Indian women belonging to Red Lake
reservation" etc. Several white squat
tiers, with their families, were found
living and occupying land on the Red
Lake reservation. These suuatterS
have settled here in the hope that
they may remain undisturbed lin
their possession until such time as the
treaty or act opening part of the reSer-
Walton is ratified by the president and
their rights assured as pre-emptors.
However. according to the act, no white
person can claim any right to any reser-
Walton land until the same ''Silail have
been approved by the PRESIDENT and
the lands have been surveyed, ap-
praised and classified" and entries and
bids have been submitted under Speci-
fed rules and regulations. The United
States revenue collector strongly ax-
pressed the hope that the government
would soon provide the waters of Rainy
lake with one or two revenue cutters.
and thus insure better protection to the
Interest of our northern borders.
HEAP FIRE-WATER.
1t was ascertaintd that the whisky
traffic was carried on indscriminately
by Canucks. Furs are bought from the
indians in exchange for whisky. and
many young girls, mere Chi drfn. are
bartered away for few pintS of the
vileSt OF intOXicantS; and, as a cOnse-
quence, the Indians in the Rainy lake
regions comprise degraded lot of mis-
cradle wretches Rat Portage. on the
Canadian side, forms the headquarters
for the supply of this vile traffic.