, 1891-12-16
ABOUT TREATIES.
State Senator Woodruff Relates
His Experiences.
Recent Arrangements With the
ShOshones and 'Raps.
A Fremont County Man Tells an
Interesting Story.

lOmaha Bee.l
When Hon. J. d. Woodruff, who is
in the city on his waY to Washington,
reaches the national capital there Will be
fun in the camp of the commission which
mt in nearly three months last summer
in framing a treaty with Shoshone and
Arapahoe indians.
Mr.. Woodruff was chairman of the
commission, but was not able to agree
with the two other members on the terms
of the treaty. and has a minority report
to make. which will probably cause
trouble and will at least throw some light
upon the manner in which government
commissions sometimes sacrifice the in
terests of the people for the sake of a
chance to use up the government appro-
p%riation. Mr.. Woodruff simply charges
that the treaty framed by the majority of
the commission means the givinRo of $780,
600 to the Indians for about a million
acres of as poor land as ever laid out of
doors: land, that he SAYS, would be ALSO
lutely worthless for settlers for whose
benefit the treaty was sought to be made.
THE entire work of the commission
said Mr.. Woodruff, was simply an il1ns-
tration of the foolishness of appointing
for such duties men who are totally I'M
qualified for the work.
IGNORANT OF INDIA AEFAIRs,
'sThe other members ofthe commission
were G. Ii. Merrillat, a young Washing
ton newspaper man, and j. II. Brigham
of OHIO, and no two men ever lived who
t-- HI III. ~. H. NJ
Brigham, | will say, however, didn't pre-
tend to know anything OF them, but
Merrillat knew enough for the two. He
was one of those fellows who have
romantic ideas about the noble red men
and wanted to treat them as trusting
children and all that Well. L have lived
among Indians all nv life, have fought
them and met them un6er all conditions,
and | soon found out mat the Merrillat
end of the commission would make a
muss of the business if possible.
AT first Merrillat and Brigham did
not appear to take much interest in the
matter. They played lawn tennis and
read thrilling stories of border life. while
| was arranging Tor n council with the "
tribes. | went at the work in earnest,
and explained to the other members my
plan for a treaty. and they concurred in it
after we had talked it all over. | pro-
posed to buy about 500. 600 acres of the
reservation, the purchase to include about
500, 900 acres of good tllable land and the
rest very fine grazing country. This
would leave the Indians about 5000 0
acres, 300. 900 acres moro than the gov
.--. I.L.,- yr,,Il mad Enr
this ] proposed tho government should
nav the Indians 100000. and in this
payment I had a plan Tor the benefit of
both the indians ard the state. | pro-
posed to have the money divided into
funds-a school fund, a road fund, an
irrigation fund and other development
funds. The money was not to 20 to the
Indians for eight years, the interest on
the funds to be used in the meantime for
the development of hat portion of the
reservation still belonging to the Indians.
SATISFIED THE INDIANS.
My plan was endorsed by Messrs.
Merrillat and Brigham, ard Il council was
called at Shoshune agency on Aug. >,
after the commission had been on the
ground only a little more than a week. l
explained otho Indians what we pro-
posed to do. | talked to them for four
hours. going into the minutest details as
to the manner in which the money from
their lands was to be used IN developing
the part still reserved by them. When |
was through talking old Chief Washable,
the hrainIest lufian in Wyoming. got up
and shook my hand aud said the treaty
was good and that he would sign il. I
have known him for years and he had