The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1891-04-22
DEAD AND DOWN PINE.
Magnitude OF the Lumber Interests OF the
Red Men of tn. Northwest

I
Red Men of ths Northwest
The bureau at Washington has this TO
say concerning the timber wealth of the
Indian reservation in Wisconsin aud
Minnesota:
During the season of 1890 the indians
OF Green Bay Agency cut and banked
for sale about %, 500, 900 feet of pine and
! 100000 of other timber, while those
of White Earth banked 10, 500, 600 feet.
The total OF these two agencies, there
fore, was about $4,000, 900 feet. While
these figures indicate the magnitude OF
| the lumber interests OF the Indians of
Wisconsin and Minnesota, the act
| passed by the last Congress permitting
the Menomonees 20 engage more system
atically i'm marketing all their timber
may lead TO results still more remarka-
bic. The Chippewas recently coded
lands amounting To perhaps 5000, 900
acres, containing a large area OF valua-
! BILE forest
The recent troubles on the Menomo-
nee reservation have attracted fresh in.
terest TO their wealth in timber. Their
sales during the season of 1890 netted
them nearly S2lS,OOO, OF which sum
So, 900 was deposited in the United
! States Treasury as a stumpage fund for
the support of the poor and helpless and
| for the ma 'ntenance of "A hospital. The
remainder was divided in cash among
those who had been engaged in the work.
The law relating TO dead and down
! timber on the reservations has been
made the subject of elaborate decisions
! by the Supreme Court The main point
has naturally been To find out how much
of the timber can b. cut. While stand
! ing IL is part of the realty, and can only
| be severed with a view TO improving
! the land and making it better adapted
! to convenient occupation If the In
| dians, under their titles, could sell the
| land freely To any buyer, they could
also cut and sell the timber without the
! land; but since this is not the case. and
! they can only make the land over TO
the Government, they are held TO be
| practically, SO far as the forests are
| concerned, tenants for life. Hence the
cutting of the timber must not be done
for the sake Of sale, but only as an Incl
J dent of Improvement But, while this
may seem 10 be a severe restriction, IL is
wise in relation 10 the question of forest
preservation. Besides, the decision of
the Supreme Court added that, sin the
DRY at least the land is better and more
| valuable with the timber off than on"
] so that there has been little practical
| difficulty In giving the Indians a fair use
of their wealth in lumber.
Still, under the decision of tho court,
an act of Congress i'm lsS9 prescribed
that "whenever there is reasonable cause
10 believe that such timber has been
| killed, burned, girdled or otherwise in
| jured for TIE purpose of securing its sale
such authority shall not be granted"
In the fall of that year, after inquiries
| had shown that there was no ground for
tf,,,, oh I'll, -, H.. L..
the Indian office granted authority TO
the Red Lake Indians and other Chip
pewas to dispose of their dead and down
timber The injustice to which they
had been subjected by failures TO give
| them this privilege was expressed in the
| following letter:
when we negotiated the treaty with
| the Chippewa Commission ceding our
lands we were promised the privilege TO
cut and dispose of the dead and down
| timber on ourreservatien until the time
| OF valuation OF the timber preceding the
| sale OF same.
During the past years millions OF feet
of timber have been allowed TO rot and
waste by worms and fire. There are
now many millions OF feet which will
| rot and waste unless we are enabled TO
| log it. The Commissioner of Indian
dispose of the dead and down timber on
the Red Lake Reservation, but this rul-
| ing furnishes us with no relief, as we
| are about 100 miles from settlement, and
no supplies in the way of provisions or
too.s.
"Cnder the ruling, which does not
| protect the furnishcr we have been I'M
able 10 induce any ore 10 supply us, and
we are now lying idle and in want"
Similar arrangements were made for
tho Green Bay Agency, with the results
already spoken Of. But thore were still
complaints that the Mcnomonees were
not protiting much by the logging bust
ness, and that they cleared larger tracts
than they could cultivate. Then the
| Fifty-frst Congress came in with an act
which, according TO Commissioner Nor
gan, removes all incentive TO injure
| growing timber by giving each member
OF the tribe an equal share of the net
| proceeds OF its sale, by funding the
| greater part of said proceeds, the in
| terest only 10 be used for their benefit,
and by giving steady employment every
! winter at good wages 20 an who are
| physically able TO labor" The results
of the logging under this law will be
| duly made public.
The logging conducted by Indians has
! long been very important and, besides
the sums received for the timber, the
wages earned by the Indians for their
labor are Of great consequence. as are
also the habits Of industry thus formed.
Hence the Indian Office has often been
anxious that contracts with white men
for numbering sho I'D not prejudice the
employmer' - Indian labor. OF course,
when lana is I. lo,ted to the Indians in
sevcra'ty they may dispose of the tim
Der as they pleas,