, 1891-12-16

plan of treaty was that the appropriation
had not been used up, and he couldn't
think OF going home as long as the gov
eminent paid his bills. You see the
commissioners we're allowed $40 a day
| each and other expenses, which made 1t
quite an object for the Young mar to pro-
long his job. He SAID 1t was the usual
thing for congressional commissions to
stay in the field as long as the appropria-
ton held out, and he didn't propose to
establish a bad precedent by going home
with a balance in the fund appropriated
for the work of the commission. He said.
too, that he would not 90 back without a
treaty-that would be another bad prece-
dent to establish-but he didn't want to
sign one in such a hurry, and Mr.. Brig
han tacitly agreed with hun.
why, that young diplomat, Merrillat.
used to spend hours telling me how he
would invest the money he was going to
get from the government as his share of
the commissions work. He paid much
more attention to building air castles
than he did to the work of the commits
sion. He had nerve enough too to tell
me that he knew he had the best of men
as he was a representative of the Asso-
ciated Press and could fill the newspapers
OF the country with matter endorsing the
work of the commission and be has since
done it TO the queens taste.
Those old Indians out there are pretty
shrewd citizens and had good advisers
among the white men who were opposed
to opening the reservation. The Arapa-
hoes very generally signed the proposed
treaty without much hesitancy, but the
Shoshones soon found out that they
could get any kind of a treaty they
wanted BY simply delaying the game and
they proceeded to do it.
After the commission had been in
the field about sixty days it was found
that the appropriation for the expense of
the work was about exhausted and some
thing had TO be done. and that promptly.
That was where Mr.. Merrillat shone.
His anxiety for a treaty convinced the
Indians that they could dictate the terms
of the agreement and they did it.
GIVING THE INDIAN THE BEST OF IT.
The upshot of the whole business
was that Merrillat and Brigham we're
finally compelled to sign a treaty which
gives the Indians all the best of it. They
agreed to paw the Shoshones and Arapa-
hoes S60O,O0O for about LOCO, 900 acres
Of land that is absolutely worthless, can
not be used for any purpose. while the
Indians reserve about 500. 900 acres of as
| good farming land as the West can show.
Mr.. Merrillat has kept ms promise about
supplying the papers of the country with
good reports of the commission 5 work.
He has pictured a land flowing with milk
and honey which will be open to settlers
as a result of the splendid treaty framed
by the commission.
81 am going to Washington to present
a minority report on that work for several
reasons. One is that | am not going to
sanction the s~quandering of 5000, 900,
even if it does belong to the government;
and another is to protect settlers who
would otherwise rush to that country on
the strength of the reports of Mr.. Mer-
rillat in case his one sided treaty is
adopted, and the sage brush and cactus
tract is opened for settlement. Wyoming
is one of the grandest states in the
Union, and only wants n fair show to be
come one Of the greatest. | will use
every means ia my power to prevent Civ
ing the state a buckeye by ratityIng such
n treaty and asking settlers to make their
homes in such an undesirable part of the
state.
+ Mr. Woodruff was n mambCr Of tho