The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1894-12-29
Captain Bubb Is etermined to
Clear the Reservation.
A DISC0URAGlNG PROSPECT
1t Ii Hardly Likely the Reserva ion W i'll
BE Thrown Open During This
Administration.


coming from the Colville Indian reser-
walton convey the meagre intelligence
that there is trouble brewing in that de-
llghtful habitation of the many tribes
OF Indians so very much sought by the
pale face of the east and west alike.
The trouble is not with or among the
Indians themselves, but this time the
savagery of the white population OF the
reserve is becoming aroused.
During the last year of General No
ble's administration as secretary of the
interior he issued a manifesto and pub
| llshed notice that all white persons
| VINO should move upon the reservation
at any time before the president should
| issue his proclamation, for the purpose
OF thereby securing priority of right
| over persons who should come upon the
| reservation after the said proclama-
ton shall have been issued, shall be
barred from any privileges whatsoever
as against any person coming lawfully
upon said reservation And to add to
this the notice issued by the secretary
of the interior warned all white per-
sons to keep off said Colville reserva-
ton under penalty of being removed by
force.
Notwithstanding the order of the sec
rotary and the notice given Hereunder,
many white men whose wives and chill
dren are of mixed blood have taken uD
their residence permanently upon the
reservation. This they have done for
the purpose of giving their wives the
privilege of claiming the allotment of
so acres of land which will be made
to each of the members of the respective
resident tribes, soon as the reserve shall
be declared a part of the public do
main. Some of the Indian families.
with white man for the head thereof,
comprise from six to a dozen chill
dren, each of whom have already
claimed the coveted S0-acre tract, and
it is not an uncommon thing to see a
white man ruling over thousand acres
of soil and many hundred head of cat
tie. horses, etc, quietly awaiting the
proclamation of the president. Many of
these white men, holding land by proxy,
have long since proved up on lands in
the Colville valley and other parts of
Stevens county, but when the reserva-
ton threatenedQto become a part of the
civilized world, they sold and removed
to the frontier, where they now have
their families, their herds and their
fortunes.
WHITE MEN MUST KEEP OFF.
Little If any attention has been paid
to the order made by Secretary Noble.
either by the white invaders of the In
dian territory nor the officers of the
government; until very recently Cap
tain Bubb who is the Indian agent for
the Colville reservation, took the view
that the reservation is the place for the
Indian, and while all Indians should be
Iyev
off Accordingly he has issued an order
that all white men who now reside upOn
the COlville reservation shall move off,
and that if they fail or refuse to heed
his warning they will be put off by force,
even if the military authorities are call
ed into requisition. 1t is not unlikely
that this order will reach to and affect
the members of the families of "the
white Indians" and if so there will be
an exodus to British Columbia, as there
is no more room for the squaw men
on this side of the Columbia river Just
how soon Captain Bubb will put this
order into effect is not stated but the
recent outrages that have been perpe-
trated upon the Indians by the whites
have caused him to be resolute in his
purpose, and it is barely possible that
he will not await the coming of the more
pleasant season of spring time.
There is very little sympathy for the
Illicit squatters. on the reservation.
They live there, prospect the country
for mineral to the exclusion of all other
people, cover up their discoveries and
brag about their hidden wealth, and the
moment white man, without ties of
relationship with the siwash, invades
the reserve, he is reported, at the in
stance Of the local white sage. to the
agent, and is summarily removed
A DISCOURAGING PROSPECT.
From the policy of the present admin
iistration ii is not very probable that
the Colville reservation will be thrown
open until after another presidential
election. Secretary Smith, of the in
terror department in his last report dis
couraged further efforts to open Indian
reservations, experimenting his notion
OF the matter with the statement that
there is plenty of land already a part
OF the public domain in the west ID af-
ford homes for the Industrious classes
or American people for a generation TO |
come, and as long as this condition
exists he thinks the Indian res arva- |
lions should not be disturbed This |
IS a strange declaration for a man in his |
official place to make The IDEA Of the |
secretary of the west, the secretary of |
The frontier, or officially, the secretary |
If the interior, sitting in his Office at the |
'lty OF Washington, and ruling over and /
virtually running a country he has new
n seen. Hoke Smith ought to take
Horace Greely's advice ana come
vest" just once.
Sorry Holidays for Them.