St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-07
INDIAN RESERVATION LOGS.
What Couple of the Purchasers
Say About Them.

Say About Them.
There is another side to the story
about the purchases of logs from the
reservation Indians In Minnesota by
lumbermen Of Minneapolis. The firms
which are said to stand in with the In
dian agent. and to receive favor in the
letting of the contracts for cutting LOGS,
deny that they have ever received
any favors from the Indians.
They say they have just made
contracts in the regular way and have
bought the logs, as any other firm has
with ID. Willard. of j. w. Day d. Co.,
published in the GLOBE yesterday. c.
y. Smith IL Co. was the only firm men,
toned as having profited by friendli-
ness with the agent. j. B. BaSSett &
Co. admit that Willard was probably
taking rap at them at the same time.
a GLOBE man saw j. B. Bassett and G..
A. Smith yesterday in relation to this
matter.
why. Dave Willard ought to know
better than to talk that way" said Maj.
Bassett in his gruff way. Just because
lie did not get the logs up there he
should not complain in this way. Every
man, woman and child in the United
States cannot make contracts with the
Indians because-there are not Indians
enough. The people who cannot get in
on contract have no right to groWl at
those who do. I'll tell you just how
this is:
1.-Two years ago Mr.. Smiths company
bought some logs of these Indians and
we bought few. This year the In
dians came down here and said to us
that they had some logs to sell. We
made them price. The contracts were
drawn up and sent on to the secretary
of the interior through the Indian de-
partment, and by him were forwarded
to the president with the recommends
ton that they be approved. And they
were approved: We are getting the
logs. That is all there is to
from the Indians. If Dave Will
ard wants those logs bad enough
to pay IS thousand for them he can
buy them. He can get them good
deal cheaper. Why, there is little to be
made in getting these logs from the In
dianS. We have to feed the whole
reservation. l never saw an Indian get
job yet that every member of his FAM
lily did not plant his tepee right along
side the camp and live there as long as
the work lasted. We have to furnish
tuo IluldHS THAI cut Those logs WIFI
everything-oXen, wagons, horses, every
thing they need in cutting logs, not
to mention what they eat"
YES" put in Mr.. Smith, 1--WE even
have to supply them with axes. Why,
there is not an OK yoke on the whole
reservation among the Indians"
Il want 10 add for myself" continued
Mr.. Smith, that Gov. Pillsbury has
nothing to do with the running of our
lumber business at all. He leaves all
that to me. l have never had one word
to say to Maj. Shuler, the agent, about
log contracts. have never said a word
to Senator Washburn. l have never
tried to exert any influence whatever.
l have bought logs from the Indians
because they were on the market. And
l do not believe that Gov. Pilsbury has
ever done anything of the kind either.
If he has. l do not know it, and | would
probably know if anything of the sort
haG been done"
LAS for these Indians cutting green
TIMBER" Ma. Bassett pursued, II do not
think they have ever cut anything but the
timber the law allows them TO cut. do
not believe they have ever felled tree
that had not dead branches. indicating
that it was beginning to die. Oh, if they
cut all the trees around and lett one
standing alone, they might chop it
down to save its life. But that is all.